SURINDER KUMAR SOOD Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is working as an Art & Craft teacher. He has approached this Court with the prayer that a writ in the nature of mandamus be issued directing the respondents to grant him higher scale for the post of Master on the basis of his educational qualifications.

(2.) THE petitioner alleges that he had joined the service as a teacher in the year 1975. In accordance with the circular issued by the State Government, the teachers possessing the qualifications of B. A./B. Sc./ B. Com/B. Sc. Agricultural and B. T. were entitled to be placed in the scale of Masters. The petitioner claims that after passing matriculation examination, he had ''acquired two years certificate course in Arts and Crafts Teachers Training Course from the Mehar Chand Technical Institute, Jalandhar.... in the year 1965. Besides this, the petitioner had also undergone five years diploma course in 'Commercial Art in Govt. College of Arts and Crafts, Chandigarh and passed in the 1st division in the year 1969 ''. On the basis of these qualifications, the petitioner claims that he is entitled to the grant of the higher scale. The petitioner 's representations, copies of which have been produced at Annexures P/7, P/13, P/17 and the legal notice dated February 5, 2002 having elicited no response, he has approached this Court through the present writ petition.

(3.) A perusal of the letter dated July 23, 1957 shows that the teachers were broadly placed in two categories. These were classified as under : -