SHYAMA PADA MANDAL Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the parties.

(2.) Petitioners, who were Instructors under non-formal education, have approached this Court with a common prayer for quashing the order dated 07.02.2018 (Annexure-11), by which the representation of the petitioners for absorption against equivalent govt. posts has been rejected, ignoring the fact that similarly situated persons have been absorbed in the State of Bihar in view of the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and also ignoring the fact that this Hon'ble Court in its order dated 24.11.2017, passed in W.P.(S). No. 2953 of 2012 & other analogous cases, was pleased to direct the Director, Primary Education for taking sympathetic view of the matter in view of long period of services rendered by the petitioners as also in view of the fact that similarly situated persons have been regularized in the State of Bihar. Further prayer has been made for a direction upon the respondents to absorb the services of the present petitioners against the equivalent Class-IV posts under govt. department, taking into account the aforesaid facts.

(3.) The factual exposition as has been delineated in the writ petition is that Govt. of India launched a centrally sponsored scheme for universalization of elementary education for implementing the constitutional mandate given in the directive principles of State policy so that the children between 6 years to 14 years, who are out of school, may be imparted non-formal education for bringing them into mainstream. The State of Bihar implemented the said scheme in the year 1981 by establishing various non-formal education centres in different districts of the State, including Dumka where the present petitioners are working as non-formal Instructors and they were paid honorarium. The Instructors were provided with guidelines/ syllabus for imparting education in the field of cleanliness, infectious disease, food and nutrition, kitchen gardening, etc. and thus, it is apparent that they were bestowed with onerous tasks and not simply that they were only part-time employee as stated in the impugned order. It is further case of the petitioners that in the year 2001, the said scheme came to an end by the order of Govt. of India and as such, all the non-formal centres were also closed and the instructors were rendered jobless after spending their prime period of life. Thereafter, the Instructors and Supervisors fought a prolonged litigation before the Hon'ble Patna High Court as well as before the Hon'ble Apex Court and finally, the State of Bihar was directed to absorb the erstwhile Supervisors and Instructors to the Class-III and Class-IV posts respectively in different Govt. Departments. In compliance of the order passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court, the State of Bihar absorbed the services of the similarly situated persons.