PAWAN KUMAR Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of writ petitions relates to the selection and recruitment of Assistant Teachers under an exercise initiated by the Department of Basic Education in the State of U.P. The process of selection and appointment can be viewed as comprising of two stages- the first being the Assistant Teacher Recruitment Examination('ATRE') conducted by the Examination Regulatory Authority; the second being the process of inviting candidates who had successfully passed the ATRE to participate in a counselling process and their ultimate appointment in accordance with merit.

(2.) The petitioners in this batch are aggrieved by the decision of the respondents in not permitting them to rectify information entered by them in the online application forms submitted in the ATRE. The petitioners appear to have incorrectly declared the marks obtained by them in the High School, Intermediate, Graduation or Training examinations resultantly impacting the declarations made in respect of their quality point marks. While some petitioners have ascribed a lesser value to the actual or aggregate marks of an examination, some have declared a higher numerical value. The petitioners also assail the action of the respondents in the context of the data collected by the respondents at the stage of the ATRE being utilised further for the purposes of completion of the recruitment of Assistant Teachers.

(3.) It becomes relevant to note that a successful passing of the ATRE is one of the essential prerequisites for appointment as an Assistant Teacher in terms of the U.P. Basic Education (Teachers) Service Rules, 1981('Rules'). In the second phase, candidates who had cleared the ATRE were invited by the respondents to participate in a counselling process and ultimately upon drawl of a merit list based on the quality point marks obtained by each candidate and invitation of options in respect of preferred districts, appointments were to be offered.