VINOD KUMAR Vs. STATE OF H P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) . These three writ petitions are being disposed of by a common judgment since similar question of facts and law are involved.

(2.) THERE is a long standing dispute amongst various categories of teachers with regard to promotion as Head Teachers. The petitioners in CWP No. 1545 of 2011 and CWP No. 9181 of 2011 are persons who are Trained Graduate Teachers employed in the Education Department in the State of Himachal Pradesh. Some of them have been promoted as Lecturers but according to them they maintain their lien in the cadre of TGTs. One of the promotional avenues from TGT is that of Headmaster (School Cadre). As per the Recruitment and Promotion Rules for the posts of Headmaster/ Headmistress of Government High Schools notified in the year 1975, 100% posts of Headmasters were to be filled in on the basis of promotion from amongst the Trained Graduate Teachers, Home Science Mistresses, Commerce Teachers, Agriculture Teachers etc. In the year 1998, the method of recruitment was amended and 75% of the posts of Headmaster and Headmistress were to be filled in by way of promotion and balance 25% by direct recruitment as per the Rules.

(3.) IT would be pertinent to mention here that the Original Application being OA No. 175 of 2002 was filed in the erstwhile H.P. State Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as the 'Tribunal'), wherein a prayer was made that the State should be directed to fill in the posts of Headmaster in accordance with the Rules i.e. 75% by way of promotion and 25% by way of direct recruitment. On 29th October, 2002, on behalf of the State a letter dated 10.10.2002 sent by the Director of Education to the learned Additional Advocate General was placed on record, wherein the learned Additional Advocate General was informed that it had been decided that promotion to the post of Headmaster would be made strictly in accordance with the existing Recruitment and Promotion Rules, until and unless the same are modified. The petition was disposed of in these terms.