GURDIAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of three writ petitions Nos. 44990, 12730 and 16954 of 1991 which involve common questions of law and fact and were ordered by the Motion Bench to be heard together. Since the main argument were advanced in civil writ petition 12730 of 1991, facts are being taken from this petition.

(2.) The minimum qualifications for a General Science Master in Schools in the State of Punjab have always been B.Sa/MSc./B.T./B.Ed. It is common case of the parties that Science Teachers with these qualifications were not available for appointment in the year 1959-60 and for sometime thereafter. The then Director of Public- Instructions, Punjab proposed to the State Government to make up the deficiency of Science teachers by recruiting F.Sc. Diploma holders who would be required to undergo diploma training for two years at their own expense and thereafter, if their work and conduct was considered satisfactory, they would be given the regular scale admissible to B.Sc./B.T./B.Ed. Science Teachers. The proposal was accepted by the State Government and the then Governor of Punjab accorded his approval which was communicated to the then Director of Public Instructions, Punjab as per letter dated March 22, 1960 (Annexure P-3 with the writ petition). Some Science Teachers including the petitioners were then recruited. Petitioner No. 1 was appointed as General Science Master on November 18, 1961 and he possessed the following qualifications- "F.Sc. and Diploma in Teaching General Science (D.G.Sc.)." Petitioner No. 2 was appointed as a Science Teacher in G.N.P. High School, Majitha District Amritsar which school was taken over by the Punjab Government on January 23, 1962 and he was absorbed in Government service as a General Science Teacher. He also did not possess the qualification of B.Sc./B.T./B.Ed. To begin with, their conditions of service were governed by the Punjab Educational Service Class III, School Cadre Rules, 1955 (for short, 'The 1955 Rules') which were later replaced in the year 1978 and were replaced by the Punjab State Education Class HI (School Cadre) Service Rules, 1978 (hereinafter called as 'the 1978 Rules'). It is not disputed that the petitioners are continuing to work as General Science Masters ever since their appointment and have had no chance of promotion in their careers. The next promotional post to which Masters like the petitioners can be promoted is that the Head Master and the qualifications for this post are prescribed by the 1978 Rules and they are as under:-

(3.) In the year 1988, about 350 posts of Head Masters/Head Mistresses were lying vacant in the Government High Schools in the State which had to be filled up in terms of the 1978 Rules by direct appointment as well as by promotion from amongst the Masters and the Mistresses for which a requisition had been sent to the Punjab Public Service Commission. Pending regular selection by the Commission, the department decided to temporarily fill up the vacant posts from amongst the Masters/Mistresses on purely ad hoc basis and according to their seniority for a period of six months or till regular selections were made, whichever was earlier. Accordingly, by an order dated August 8,1988 (Annexure P-4 with the writ petition), a large number of Masters were temporarily promoted including the two petitioners. The concerned District Education Officers were directed to verify that the Masters who were being promoted possessed the qualification of B.T./B.Ed. In pursuance of the aforesaid order, the petitioners joined as Head Masters and started working as such and continued working till July, 1991 One Amarjit Sharma who is petitioner in Civil Writ Petition 4490 of 1991 had not been promoted presumably on the ground that he did not possess the qualifications of B.T./B.Ed. He filed Civil Writ Petition No. 15607 of 1990 in this Court which was disposed of with a direction that the respondents therein should decide the representation filed by the petitioner therein. Shri Amarjit Sharma alleged discrimination on the ground that the two petitioners herein who also did not possess the qualification of B.T./B.Ed. had been promoted as Head Masters. It was thereafter that the department issued a show cause notice in July, 1991 to the petitioners (Annexure P-6 with the writ petition) requiring them to show cause they be not reverted as they did not possess the qualification of B.T./B.Ed. It was then that the present writ petition was filed challenging the said show cause notice. The Motion Bench while admitting the writ petition stayed the reversion of the petitioners and it is under the orders of this Court that they are presently working as Head Masters. Their primary grievance is that having worked as Masters for the last more than 30 days they are not being promoted as Head Masters and that they should be provided with atleast one promotional opportunity during their entire service.