LAWS(JHAR)-2014-9-59

KOKILA DEVI Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

Decided On September 17, 2014
Kokila Devi Appellant
V/S
STATE OF JHARKHAND Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these writ petitions, the primary question involved is whether the cut off date for reckoning the upper age limit in the advertisements issued in the month of November 2013 by different district authorities for recruitment to the post of Assistant Teacher in Government Primary Schools Class 1 to V i.e. 01.08.2013 is arbitrary or not ? Whether such cut off date for upper age limit should have been reckoned as 01.07.2011 instead ? The matter was earlier taken up on few dates and on 20.8.2014, this Court after recording the plea of the petitioners and the stand of the respondents as well on the aforesaid issue, requested the State to accord due consideration to the issues involved and come forth with their considered stands. The order dated 20.08.2014 is quoted hereinunder for better appreciation of the issue involved which have also crystallized between the parties:-

(2.) The State has filed a supplementary counter affidavit thereafter, inter alia, taking the stand that (i) the advertisements have been issued in consonance with the 2012 Rules and no infirmity in the advertisements has been pointed out by the petitioners; (ii) rules itself are not under challenge; (iii) referring to the various judgments in the counter affidavit passed earlier in one or the other cases by this Court, the respondents have also submitted that fixation of upper age limit is fully in consonance with the public policy as also the ratio laid down by the judgment of the Hon'ble Court earlier; (iv) they have also submitted that the selection process has been completed in two districts of Ranchi and Palamau, where merit list has been also published and appointment letters have also been issued while in the district of Koderma, the merit list has been published on the Website. Apart form above contentions, during course of argument, Mr. Srijit Choudhary, learned GA has also submitted that there is nothing arbitrary in fixation of cut off date as 01.08.2013 under the said advertisements. The entire exercise initiated under Advertisement No. 27/2011 was quashed earlier by the Division Bench of this Court and nothing remained so far as the said selection exercise is concerned. It is further submitted that the present exercise has been conducted under the new 2012 rules in line with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 which requires qualifying of Teachers Eligibility Test. No right flows from the previous judgment in favour of the petitioners to seek relaxation in upper age limit or shifting of cut off date of upper age limit. Further arguments have also been made that once the selection process has commenced, the rules of the game can not be changed. Learned counsel also submitted that in case, the pleas of the petitioners are accepted, who are only few in numbers, the entire selection process would be delayed where thousands of applicants are involved and appointments have to be made for thousands of vacancies This itself would lead to inequity.

(3.) Learned counsel for the respondents have also relied upon the same judgment passed by the learned Division Bench in the case of Bhola Nath Rajak & others vs. The State of Jharkhand & others, 2014 1 JCR 616 ) and submitted that the necessary conditions or factors to establish that the cut off of date is arbitrary, has not been pleaded or established by the petitioners. Reliance has also been placed on the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in the case of Dhananjay Malik and others vs. State of Uttaranchal & others, 2008 4 SCC 171.