RAKESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed for directing the respondents to appoint the petitioners on the post of Physical Education Teachers, who are stated to have qualified pursuant to the due process of selection undertaken by the Education Department, Government of Bihar.

(2.) The brief facts of the case according to the petitioners are that the Education Department, Government of Bihar, had advertised for the post of Physical Education Teacher on 27/4/2016 and the qualification required was prescribed as Bachelor of Physical Education. The petitioners, in light of the said advertisement and having the requisite qualification, had applied for being appointed on the post of Physical Education Teacher by filing application forms before the last date of submission of the same in the concerned offices of the District Education Officers in the State of Bihar, as per the advertisement. Subsequently, the name of the petitioners was depicted in the final merit list published by the Patna Nagar Nigam, Patna, titled as "Secondary Teacher's Final Merit List (Year 2016), subjectPhysical Education", whereafter consent letters were taken from the petitioners by the concerned department for the purposes of appointment in various districts. However, to the utter surprise of the petitioners, the Director, Secondary Education Department, Government of Bihar, Patna, issued a letter dtd. 19/7/2017, wherein it has been stated that for the purposes of appointment on the post of Physical Education Teacher, the qualification of Bachelor in Physical Education will not be the only requirement but the candidates should also possess the qualification of B.P. Ed., as such, those candidates who are not having the qualification of B.P. Ed. will not be appointed on the post of Physical Education Teacher. The said letter dtd. 19/7/2017 was sent to the Municipal Commissioners, Chief Executive Officers, Executive Officers, Nagar Parishads/ Nagar Panchayats, as also to all the District Education Officers of the State of Bihar. The Ld. counsel for the petitioners has also referred to certain instances whereby and whereunder candidates possessing only the qualification of Bachelor of Physical Education have been selected and appointed as Physical Education Teachers. The learned counsel for the petitioners has referred to Rule 8(v) of the Bihar Zila Parishad Secondary and Higher Secondary Teacher (Employment and Service Conditions) (Amendment), Rules, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules, 2016) to submit that the same clearly stipulates that an untrained teacher is required to obtain necessary training within three years of appointment, hence, even if the stand of the State Government is accepted to the effect that B.P. Ed. is also an essential qualification, apart from possessing the Bachelors Degree in Physical Education, for the purposes of appointment as a Physical Education Teacher, still the petitioners cannot be precluded from being appointed inasmuch as they have the option to obtain the B.P. Ed. Degree within a period of three years from the date of appointment.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the advertisement was published as per the Bihar Municipal Corporation Secondary and Higher Secondary Teacher (Employment and Service Conditions) (Amendment), Rules, 2016 and the Bihar District Board Secondary and Higher Secondary Teacher (Amendment and Service Conditions) (Amendment), Rules, 2016 as also in accordance with the Regulations of the year 2006, all of which prescribe the necessary qualification of a Physical Education Teacher to be only Bachelor of Physical Education with minimum 50% marks, obtained from a recognized institution and not B.P. Ed. It is further submitted that the aforesaid letter dtd. 19/7/2017, issued by the Director, Secondary Education Department, Government of Bihar, Patna, has the effect of changing the rules of the game after the game is over inasmuch as the merit list has already been published and consent has also been taken from the petitioners for appointment as Physical Education Teacher, hence, the selection process was over prior to issuance of the said letter dtd. 19/7/2017. In this regard, the learned counsel for the petitioners has referred to a judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of K. Manjusree vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and Another, reported in (2008) 3 SCC 512. It is further submitted that the rules of the game i.e. the criteria for selection cannot be altered by the authorities concerned midway or after the process of selection has commenced. In this regard, the learned counsel for the petitioners has referred to a judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation and Others vs. Rajendra Bhimrao Mandve and Others, reported in (2001) 10 SCC 51. Lastly, it is submitted that the Education Department, Government of Bihar, Patna, has issued a notification dtd. 25/7/2017 whereby and whereunder the process of counselling has been initiated for the purposes of appointment on the post of Physical Education Teachers.