RADHA KRISHNA JHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in this case arc working in different constituent colleges under the Ranchi University as Laboratory Assis- tants/Incharge/Technician/Instructors since the dates of their appointments. The chart showing the list of the petitioners with details of their qualifications, date of appointments and the post held are mentioned in Annexure-1 to this writ application.

(2.) Although they have been appointed long back and possessed the highest qualifications, they have not been promoted or given the scope of promotional avenues, According to them, although they were Laboratory Instructors but they were doing the job of Laboratory Demonstrators since the dates of their appointments and, as such, prayer has been made for designating them as Demonstrators and to give all consequential monetary benefits together with the scope of promotional avenues. On earlier occasion also, the petitioners came up before this Court in CWJC No. 387 of 1995 (R). All these petitioners were the petitioners in that case and they prayed in that writ petition for issuance of a writ of mandamus commanding upon the respondents to re-designate them as Demonstrators. Most of the petitioners are having the highest degree of qualifications in their field of subjects and holding Ph. D. degree in different science subjects. It goes without saying that the petitioners are the highly qualified persons. Before 1960, the post of Laboratory Assistants/Laboratory Incharge/Laboratory Technician and Laboratory Instructors were available and they were holding practical classes. Those who had the qualification of B.Sc, they were designated as Demonstrators with higher pay scales. The posts of Demonstrators are included within the definition of "Teacher" as defined under Section 2 (v) of the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976. By a decision in 1981, the State Government re-designated the Laboratory Assistants/Laboratory Instructors/Laboratory Technician/ Laboratory Incharge as Demonstrators from time to time who were appointed before 1-4-1973 and the pay scales of Demonstrators were higher than the pay scale of the Laboratory Assistants. As the petitioners were not designated as Demonstrators, as was done in the case of the appointees before 1-1-73, they are not getting the promotional avenues under the Act or the Statute and the persons who were appointed as such are going to retire on the same post.

(3.) The grievance of the petitioners is that the State Government/University were bound to give promotional avenue to its employees as per the decision of the Supreme Court of India wherein it was held that in absence of promotional avenues, service of a person is bound to stagnate and causes the frustration on the person in the service to serve properly with devotion. The petitioners have not only the reasonable qualification to be designated as Demonstrators, but they have improved their qualifications also by which they are even entitled to become Head of the Department of their subjects. But because of non-designation as Demonstrators, they were never considered for promotion to the post of Lecturers and to the higher posts in the hierarchy. If they are designated as Demonstrators then as per the decision of the State Government and that of the Ranchi University, they can be promoted as Lecturers. Instances have been shown wherein similarly situated persons, who were appointed before 1- 1-1973 have been designated as Demonstrators and then promoted to the post of Lecturers and in the hierarchy, they have gone even up to the post of Principal and Head of the Depart- .ment of their subjects in different constituent colleges. In the year 1969, the University Service Commission issued letter to the Ranchi University to the effect that the Demonstrators in affiliated colleges have to be treated as 'Teachers' within the meaning of Section 2 (p) of the Bihar State Universities Act, 1960, and that the Graduate Laboratory Assistants in the colleges should be re-designated as Demonstrators with a further rider that the Laboratory Assistants with I.Sc. qualification cannot be absorbed as Demonstrators in a college. In the said writ petition, the State Government did not contest but the Ranchi University contested the case and practically, supported the case of the petitioners as Ranchi University at different stage was recommending the case of the petitioners for their re-designation as Demonstrators. Similar position arose in respect of the Graduate Laboratory Assistants in the Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology, Muzaffarpur. They came up before this Court in CWJC No. 522 of 1979 (R) with a prayer for issuance of writ of mandamus commanding upon the State Government to designate them as Demonstrators and implement the U.G.C. pay scale prescribed for the Demonstrators with effect from 1-4-1973. The case was highly contested by the State Government, but ultimately, it was held by this Court that the petitioners in that case who were Laboratory Assistants should be re- designated as Demonstrators and they should be given the scale of pay of Demonstrators as per U.G.C. norms. Accordingly, Laboratory Assistants in the technical colleges, schools and Institutions had been re-designated as Demonstrators. The same analogy was prayed to be followed in the case of the petitioners also and the said judgment of the Division Bench, as contained in Annexure-2/1, was also referred to in the earlier writ petition filed by the petitioner. On the basis of the judgment in CWJC No. 522 of 1979, the State Government by letter dated 23-5-81 designated the Laboratory Assistants as Demonstrators working under the different constituent colleges of the Ranchi University, but the same has not been followed in the case of the petitioners. The same was reiterated by the State Government in the year 1983, but the petitioners' cases have not been taken up in their proper perspective. In the year 1991, the Ranchi University took a decision that the Laboratory Incharge/Laboratory Technician are to take classes without any remuneration provided that they have the requisite qualification and as per that decision, the petitioners are taking classes without pay scale of Demonstrators and certificates from different colleges by the Principal or by the Head of the Department have been filed showing that the petitioners are taking regular classes in their subjects not only up to the B.Sc. level but up to the M.Sc. level also. Petitioners' several representation to the concerned authorities being recommended by the Ranchi University resulted in deaf ear by the State Government and, as such, the petitioners had to file the previous writ petition. Similar nature of case arose before the Calcutta High Court where Laboratory Assistants prayed for designation as Demonstrators. The prayers of the Laboratory Assistants were allowed by the Calcutta High Court, but the West Bengal Government went to the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 2530 of 1993, but the said appeal was dismissed and it was held that the action of the West Bengal Government in not conferring the status of teaching staff upon the Laboratory Instructors/Assistants who have got the requisite qualification to come within the purview of teaching staff is prima facie arbitrary and thereby violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. All these points were considered by the learned Single Judge in CWJC No. 387 of 1995 (R) and reference was also given in respect of the writ application filed by the Graduate Laboratory Assistants in CWJC No. 522 of 1979, as mentioned earlier, and on the analogy of the principle enunciated by the Division Bench and on the 'basis of the Calcutta High Court's judgment affirmed by the Apex Court, the writ petition was disposed of with the following direction and observation:-