DHRUB LOCHAN PRADHAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal under Section 10 of the Letters Patent of the High Court of Judicature at Patna has been filed against the order dated 2.11.1999 passed in CWJC No. 9062 of 1998 [reported in 2000 (1) PLJR 996] by a learned Single Judge of this Court whereby claim of the appellant to recognise him as Headmaster of High School, Kuchai, District West Singhbhum from 2.10.1980 has been rejected.

(2.) THE case of the appellant is that he was appointed as a Headmaster in the said school on 1.1.1972. The permission to establish the school was granted by the then Bihar Secondary Education Board on 3.2.1976 wherein the services of the appellant was recognised as Headmaster. The school was permanently recognised by the said Board on 17.10.1979 and service of the appellant has been recognised as Acting Headmaster. The Bihar Non -Government Secondary Schools (Taking over of Management and Control) Ordinance, 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the Ordinance) was promulgated which was later on replaced by Act no. 33 of 1981. According to the provisions, of the said Ordinance the services of the appellant stood transferred to the State Government as a Headmaster with effect from 2.10.1980, but the benefit of the said provision was not given to him and thereafter the appellant filed a representation before the Director, Secondary Education which was rejected. He came to this Court in CWJC No. 3236 of 1985 and the said writ application was disposed of with a direction to approach respondent No. 2, Director, Secondary Education. The representation of the appellant was rejected on 5.10.1987. Again the appellant moved before this Court in CWJC No. 11 of 1988 questioning the validity of the order, but this Court did not interfere with the order and directed the appellant to move before the Bihar Administrative Tribunal, Patna. The appellant moved the Tribunal. In the meantime, the Tribunal ceased to function and as such no order was passed in the said matter. In 1993, the appellant was transferred to another High School at Jwalkanta, Singhbhum (East) in the capacity of the Headmaster, but later on he was treated as an Assistant Teacher and one Shri Kant Mandal was allowed to function as a Headmaster of the said School. Again, the appellant filed a writ application being CWJC No. 3072 of 1993(R) which was dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to the appellant to move before the Director, Secondary Education for relief in accordance with taw. In pursuance of that, the appellant moved before the Director, Secondary Education, but no decision has been taken. In the meantime, the services of the appellant have been regularised as Headmaster but with effect from 2.10.1987 and not from 2.10.1980. Thereafter he filed the aforesaid writ application for the aforesaid relief which has been rejected as stated above. Hence the present appeal.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the appelant submitted that the appellant should have been treated as a Headmaster of the High School from the date of take over i.e. 2.10.1980 and in support of said submission, he relied upon a judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of A. K. Pradhan vs. State of Bihar and ors., 1998 (2) PLJR (SC) 2.