HARPAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment of ours would dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos. 14364, 13893, 14542, 14612, 14619, 14812, 14858, 14929, 14960, 15000, 15025, 15381, 15581 and 16216 of 1990 as common question of law based upon same facts are involved. The counsel for the parties are agreed that the facts of the case may be picked up from Civil Writ Petition No. 14364 of 1990.

(2.) Petitioner Harpal Singh, in the aforementioned writ petition, has averred that he after passing out his High Secondary Examination from the Punjab School Education Board in the year 1978 joined Art and Crafts Teachers Training Course in the Department, of Industrial Training Haryana, and on completion of the Diploma Course He was issued a detailed marks certificate dated 6.11.1981. The certificate was issued by the Industrial Training Department, Haryana, which is annexed with the writ petition as Annexure P-1. The petitioner got himself registered with the Employment Exchange and went on getting his name renewed every year. The Director Public Instructions (Schools) Punjab, wrote a letter dated 30.9.1984 Annexure P.2 to all the District Education Officer/Circular Education Officers informing them that the Diploma of Art and Craft obtained from the Department of Industrial Training, Haryana, was not equivalent to the Diploma of Art and Craft of the State of Punjab. The petitioner has stated in the writ petition that he was not aware of the letter Annexure P.2 and at no stage the concerned Employment Exchange, Punjab, ever raised any objection with respect to the Diploma obtained by him from the Department of Industrial Training, Haryana. The Punjab State decided to fill the vacant posts of Art and Craft Teachers and decided to interview the candidates who were registered with the Employment Exchange in the State of Punjab and for selecting the candidates, a Departmental Selection Committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of respondent No. 3, who sent letter to the petitioner directing him to appear on 14.11.1990 at 9.00 A.M. for interview. According to the petitioner, a note was appended with the said interview letter Annexure P.3 to the effect that only those candidates will be examined for interview who had obtained Art and Craft Diploma of two years duration from the State of Punjab and it somebody by mistake had received the roll mumber and such a person had not passed out the Art and Craft Diploma from the State of Punjab he need not come for interview. On receipt of letter Annexure P.3 it came to the notice of the petitioner that at an earlier stage Annexure P.2. was received from the Director, Public Instructions, Punjab. It is in these circumstances that the legality and the validity of letter Annexure P.2 has been challenged.

(3.) Sarvshri V.K. Jindal, I.S. Saggu, R.K. Garg, H.R. Bansal, J.S. Sidhu, H.S. Gill and I.S. Ranghpuri, counsel appearing for the petitioners, have vehemently argued that the action of the respondents in not treating the Diploma of Art and Craft Teachers Training Course obtained from the Department of Industrial Training, Haryana (in short, 'Haryana Diploma') as equivalent to the Diploma from the Department of Industrial Training, Punjab (in short 'Punjab Diploma') is highly arbitrary. It has further been argued that the decision cannot be enforced retrospectively. The counsel have brought to our pointed notice that certain teachers, namely, Ranjit Singh and S.K. Bedi (with Haryana Diploma) are working with the respondents and, therefore, while declining to interview the petitioner, the State Government has practised discrimination. The counsel have further argued that the respondents have acted without jurisdiction in de-recognising the Haryana Diploma. In support of the arguments advanced at the bar, reliance was placed upon Som Dutt v. State of Haryana and another, 1983 3 SLR 41; Sachida nand Vashista v. The State of Haryana,1985 2 SLR 114, Miss Rashmi v. The State of Punjab and others,1983 1 SLR 31 and Suresh Pal and others v. State of Haryana and others, 1987 2 SCC 445.