PRASHIKSHITEROJGARSIKSHAK SANGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these writ applications substantially the same reliefs have been claimed, and hence these writ application were heard together and are being disposed of by this judgment.

(2.) The petitioners herein, who claim to be trained teachers, and whose names were borne on the various district panels prepared for appointment of teachers in Primary Schools, challange the Government Resolution dated 5th March 1991, whereby the Government decided that for the purpose of appointment of teachers in Primary Schools, training shall not be considered as a compulsory qualification. It further decided that after appointment, the persons selected shall be given training in Government Teachers training Collegs, and that the selection for appointment shall be only on the basis of merit. The Resolution discloses the reasons which compelled the Government to take such a decision. Thereafter, rules have been framed by the Government under proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution which were notified on 30th September. 1991. These rules have been challenged by the petitioners. They have also challenged the advertisement issued for the purpose of appointment of Primary School teachers, which have been issued subsequent to the promulgation of the rules. The grievance of the petitioners is that having acquired training, they were qualified for appointment as the Primary Schools, and consequently in accordance with the practice earlier followed, their names were borne on the waiting lists prepared by the different district administrations on the basis of the recommendation of the Selection Committees. Since the Government Resolution Hated 5-3-1991 and the rules framed thereafter, ignored the existence of those panels, and provide for selection and appointment of teachers on different considerations, their rights have been adversely affected by the arbitary and unreasonable action of the State. It may be noticed thatbefore the issuance of the Government Resolution dated 5-3-1991, by order dated 2nd July, 1989, following the judgment of Full Bench of this Court quashing the district panels, the authorities were directed to prepare fresh panels after deleting condition in the advertisement. A full Bench of this Court held that a disqualification based upon resident in the matter of appointment to the post of Primary teacher was hit by Article 16 of the Constitution of India, and since the panels had been prepared on the basis of illegal advertiesments issued by the authorities, were by resident of other districts where excluded from applying for the posts in a particular district, the panels prepared by the authorities were illegal.

(3.) The respondents on the orher hand, have sought to justify the action of the State on the ground that the panels earlier prepared having been declared to be illegal the State was found to ignore those panels and issue direction for preparation of fresh panels in accordance with law. The Government Resolution dated 5-3-1991 providing that training shall not be a compulsory qualification, was issued in the pecular circumstances enumerated in the Resolution itself. Thereafter, the Governer framed Rule under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India, which was entirely within his competence. Those rules cannot be assailed. It was contended that the petition claim any right on the basis that their name were included in the waiting lists prepared earlier, which were declared to be illegal by the High Court. This in a nutshell, is the scope of the controversy in this batch of writ applications.