Single judge order directing the Director, Secondary Education to decide the petitioner's appointment status within four weeks, holding that a fresh selection process ignoring her prior regular appointment was unlawful.
Petitioner directed to participate in fresh selection; Committee order quashed; Director directed to pass final order within four weeks.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.6725 of 2010
| ====================================================== 1. Renu Bala C/O Sri Shaligram Sharma R/O B-11, Bankmen's Colony, Chitragupta Nagar, Kankarbagh, Patna .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State Of Bihar Through The Secretary Department Of Primary And Secondary Education, Government Of Bihar, Patna 2. Secretary, Department Of Primary And Secondary Education Government Of Bihar, Patna 3. Director, Secondary Education, Government Of Bihar, Patna 4. District Education Officer, Patna 5. Principal Rabindra Balika High School, Rajendra Nagar, Patna 6. Managing Committee, Rabindra Balika High School Rajendra Nagar, Patna Through Its Secretary 7. Secretary, Managing Committee Rabindra Balika High School, Rajendra Nagar, Patna 8. Chairman, Bihar Rajya Karamchari Chayan Ayog, Bihar, Patna 9. Secretary, Bihar Rajya Karamchari Chayan Ayog, Bihar, Patna 10. Anandita Banerjee, Assistant Teacher Rabindra Balika High School, Rajendra Nagar, Patna .... .... Respondent/s ====================================================== |
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Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Md.Imteyaz Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Amir Alam, Adv. |
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| For the Respondent/s : Mr. (Gp9) Mr. Kaushal Kumar Jha, Adv. |
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| ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN SINHA ORAL ORDER |
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| 4 | 10-12-2012 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, the State, |
| the Bihar Staff Selection Commission and for respondent | |
| No.10. | |
| Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that | |
| while she was appointed on the post of Economics and | |
| Sanskrit Teacher, respondent No.10 was appointed as an | |
| English Teacher. There is no conflict between them but she |
Patna High Court CWJC No.6725 of 2010 (4) dt.10-12-2012
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had been impleaded more as a precautionary measure. In view of the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the School, he prays for leave to delete the name of respondent No.10 from the cause title. Let it be done at the risk of the petitioner.
Learned Counsel for the Bihar Staff Selection Commission submits that approval of appointments in a minority aided institution like the present school now vests in the Director, Secondary Education from the year-2010 and the Commission has no role to play in it.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that pursuant to a regular advertisement dated 24.4.2003 for the post of Assistant Teachers inter alia in the discipline of Economics and Sanskrit she was one of the applicants. After following all procedures of selection the petitioner was issued appointment letter on 8.9.2003. The advertisement did not mention that it was for a temporary appointment. The letter of appointment however used the word ‘temporary’ since the appointment required the approval of the Government being an aided minority institution. An unnecessary controversy was sought to be created that the petitioner had wrongly been appointed on a vacancy occasioned by the retirement of a regular Head Master, one Smt. Chhanda Mukherjee, who was an Assistant Teacher officiating as an In-charge Head Master. This fact is no more in dispute from the counter affidavit filed on behalf of Respondent No.4, the District
Patna High Court CWJC No.6725 of 2010 (4) dt.10-12-2012
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Education Officer, now rechristened as the District Programme Officer. The counter affidavit on behalf of the school in question has taken the same stand.
The order dated 30.3.2010 from the Managing Committee in the background of the aforesaid facts requiring her to participate in a fresh selection process for appointment not giving her the benefit of the earlier regular appointment is therefore contrary to law.
The District Education Officer has opined that the decision of the school to retract her appointment in view of a frivolous objection by the authorities of the nature referred to above is not justified.
In view of the subsequent vesting of authority in the Director, Secondary Education, learned counsel for the Commission submits that whatever objections may have been raised by it earlier are no more relevant and it has no jurisdiction. That leaves the matter for a final decision. The decision naturally has to be within the confines of the stand taken by the District Education Officer before the Court on oath in counter affidavit with regard to the status of the petitioner.
The Director, Secondary Education is directed to pass appropriate final orders with regard to the appointment of the petitioner in light of the counter affidavit filed by the District Education Officer within a maximum period of four
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weeks from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order.
The application stands disposed.
(Navin Sinha, J) K.C.jha/-
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the petitioner, appointed as an Economics and Sanskrit Teacher via regular selection, could be ordered to participate in a fresh selection process by the Managing Committee.
Whether the recording of certain vacancies in the petitioner's past appointment was a valid ground to retract her employment.
Renu Bala
The State of Bihar Through The Secretary Department Of Primary And Secondary Education, Government Of Bihar, Patna
Director, Secondary Education, Government Of Bihar, Patna
Navin Sinha
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
