AMRIT SAGAR Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONERS in this batch of writ petitions, are aggrieved of Government Order No. 1491 -Edu.of 2002 dated 31.12.2002 whereby the Incharge Lecturers in the discipline of Mathematics in the Education Department of the State, have been ordered to be regularized with effect from the date they were made Incharge ignoring the claims of the writ petitioners and other persons who claim to be senior to them in the cadre of service both as Masters/ Teachers , the feeding channel for the post of Lecturer.

(2.) THE recruitment to the post of Lecturer is governed and regulated by the Jammu and Kashmir Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1992. Rule -5 of these Rules reads as under:

(3.) IN SWP No. 17/2003, it is alleged that the petitioners were appointed as teachers from 1979 to 1992. They acquired their Post Graduation and promoted as Masters. They are senior to the private respondents as Master. Their seniority position is reflected in the tentative seniority list of 1994 and 1996, which clearly indicates that they are senior to the private respondents. It is further alleged that the respondent - State has been making promotions to the posts of Lecturer on Incharge basis by adopting pick and choose method ignoring the claim of seniors including the petitioners in almost all the disciplines in the Education Department in most arbitrary manner instead of making promotion on regular substantive basis in accordance with law i.e. by referring the same to the Public Service Commission (PSC) and holding Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC).Petitioners further state that the Government has now issued Government Order No. 1491 - Edu. Dated 31.12.2002 whereby all the Incharge Lecturers have been regularized w.e.f. the dates they were made Inchage. From the annexure enclosed to the impugned Government Order, it appears that the officials have been regularized from the dates they were holding the post as Incharge Lecturers . Petitioners accordingly assailed impugned order and seek its quashment and consequently directions on the following grounds: