RAM KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of writ petitions concern the advertisement in selection of teachers in the following categories: Hindi, Punjabi and Sanskrit as subjects and PTI and Art & Craft teachers.

(2.) The batch of writ petitions contained a challenge to the selection to the posts on the ground that the selection was made from a State merit list pooling all the candidates interviewed in various districts en bloc discarding district-wise merit list for the respective vacancies in each district. This, according to the petitioners, constitute an infraction of the relevant rules that stipulate the posts as belonging to the district cadre and the appointing authority as DEO. The State of Haryana has framed rules called, the Haryana State Education School School Cadre (Group C) Service Rules, 1998 (for short, the 1998 Rules) that has come into force after the publication of official gazette on 29.01.1998. Prior to the issuance of these rules, the selection had been governed by the Punjab Education Service Class III (School Cadre) Rules, 1955. Rule 6 of the 1998 Rules provided for appointment to the posts were to be made by the respective District Education Officer of the concerned district. The advertisement issued, contained a condition at serial No.12 that candidates submitting more than one application at one or more places will be declared disqualified. As far as PTI teachers, they would, therefore, contend that the State had committed an error in advertising 622 posts with the State as a whole. A similar challenge is mounted for the other categories also. According to them, since the number of posts in each district ought to have been given in the advertisement which was not given, the number of posts existing on the last date fixed for the receipt of applications ought to be taken as the number of posts for which the selection was required to be made.

(3.) The advertisement specified the category of posts mentioned in the advertisement for various classes of persons like general, SC, BC, ESM and PH. It is not necessary for us to go into the details but this is merely to set forth for the consideration to the fact that there had been appropriate posts reserved for the scheduled castes and backward candidates. To paraphrase all the objections coming through various writ petitions:-