Jharkhand High Court
Sidheshwar Leyangi & Anr vs State Of Jharkhand & Ors on 6 July, 2015
Author: R. Mukhopadhyay
Bench: Rongon Mukhopadhyay
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P.(S) No. 5505 of 2009
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1. Sidheshwar Leyangi, S/o Late Sangi Leyangi, the Asstt. Teacher in
Project Girls High School Lota, P.O. - Pandrasali, Police Station -
Mufasil, Chaibasa, District - West Singhbhum and residing at Vill. -
Pattahatu, P.O. - Pandrasali, Police Station - Mufasil, Chaibasa, District
- West Singhbhum
2. Smt. Srimani Hembram, D/o Dumbhi Hembram, the Asstt. Teacher
in Project Girls High School Lota, P.O.- Pandrasali, Police Station -
Mufasil, Chaibasa, District - West Singhbhum and residing at Vill. -
Bara Thalkho, P.O. - Ghaghari, Police Station - Mufasil, Chaibasa,
District - West Singhbhum ... ... Petitioners
Versus
1.The State of Jharkhand through its Secretary, Human Resources
Development Department, Telephone Bhawan, Dhurwa, Ranchi
2.The State of Bihar through its Secretary, Human Resources
Development Department, Govt. of Bihar, New Secretariat, Bailey
Road, P.O. - GPO, P.S. - Secretariat, Patna (Bihar)
3.The Director (Secondary Education), Human Resources Development
Department, New Secretariat, Bailey Road, P.O. - GPO, P.S. -
Secretariat, Patna (Bihar)
4.The Director (Secondary Education), Human Resources Development
Department, Telephone Bhawan, Dhurwa, Ranchi
5.The Regional Deputy Director of Education, Kolhan Division, At
Chaibasa
6.The District Education Officer, West Singhbhum at Chaibasa
... ... Respondents
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CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RONGON MUKHOPADHYAY
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For the Petitioners : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Pandey, Advocate
For the Respondents : G. P. II
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C.A.V. On 21/05/2015 Pronounced on 06/07/2015
In this writ application the petitioner has prayed for a direction
upon the respondents to recognise/absorb the service of the petitioners
on the post of Assistant Teacher in Project Girls High School, Lota, P.S.
- Pandrasali, Police Station - Mufasil, Chaibasa, District - West
Singhbhum and to pay salary and all consequential benefits as also for
a direction upon the respondents to make payment of regular salary to
the petitioners in view of the Government letter No. 142 dated
04.02.1989. The petitioners by way of amendment has further prayed for quashing the report of Three Men Committee in which the claim of -2- the petitioners for regularisation/recognisation and their services, has been rejected.
2. A policy decision was taken by the State Government to establish two schools in each Block of the State of Bihar including one Girls High School to eradicate the backwardness from the society. The said policy decision was notified vide notification no. 1115 dated 27.05.1981.
3. The local people of Khuntpani Block established a Girls High School in the Village - Lota and a Managing Committee was also constituted for proper administration of the School. The School started functioning from 1983 and the petitioner No. 1 was appointed by the Managing Committee in 1983 against the sanctioned post of History Teacher to which she joined on 24.10.1983. The petitioner No. 2 was appointed by the Managing Committee on 18.10.1983 against the sanctioned post of Political Science to which she joined on 24.10.1983. Both the petitioners are Graduate and both belong to the Scheduled Tribe community.
4. The State Government vide letter dated 25.01.1985 selected 300 blocks including Khuntpani Block of West Singhbhum district in order to establish 300 Girls High Schools in each of the Blocks. In order to remove impediment in selection of the school a Three Man Committee headed by the District Magistrate of the district was constituted and the school of the petitioner was selected as a project school under the Scheme. Since there was some discrimination with the payment of salary of the teaching and non-teaching staffs of the project school selected in the financial year1981-82 and the teaching and non-teaching -3- staffs of the project school selected in the financial year 1984-85 several representations were preferred before the Director Secondary Education requesting therein to make payment. The Government constituted a Screening Committee and also issued a Letter No. 142 dated 04.02.1989 for providing salary w.e.f. 01.01.1989. Since disputes cropped up with respect to the contents of Letter No. 142 dated 04.02.1989, the matter came up before the Full Bench of the Patna High Court and the writ petitions were disposed of on 07.12.1989 giving various directions. The matter went up to the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 6626-81 of 2001 which was disposed of directing the Chief Secretary of Bihar to constitute a Three Man Committee for examining the existence of schools selected in the financial year 1984-
85. A further direction was issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that the individual claim of the Teachers and non-teaching staffs will be considered in light of law laid down by the Full Bench in Paragraph - 35 of its judgment. The Three man Committee was constituted both by the State of Bihar as well as the State of Jharkhand. The case of the petitioners were also put up before the Three Man Committee but however the claim of the petitioners was rejected which has been sought to be challenged by the petitioners by way of amendment.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the State of Jharkhand has come out with notification as contained in Memo No. 424 dated 09.02.2011 from which it appears that the service of the untrained teachers have also been recognised. It has further been submitted that the Three Man Committee did not take into consideration, the Letter No. 142 dated 04.02.1989 by which the -4- services of untrained lady graduate teacher has to be recognised. It has further been submitted that Letter No. 142 dated 04.02.1989 makes it incumbent upon the State Government to make the untrained teachers trained within three years from the date of recognition of their service but no efforts have been taken by the State Government for imparting training to the petitioners. It has further been submitted that the teachers belonging to female category as also Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste categories have been regularised though they were not trained teachers and the respondents have appointed in the said notification dated 09.02.2011 the teachers mentioned at serial No. 1 and 2 namely Smt. Sajla Verma and Juhi Kumari respectively. It has been submitted that the said two teachers were untrained teachers working in Langta Baba Project Girls High School, Mirzaganj, Giridih and in such circumstance the petitioners are also entitled to regularization of their services. It has also been submitted that the Three Man Committee did not consider this aspect of the matter and only on the basis of the fact that the petitioners were untrained, their cases have not been considered.
6. The learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand has submitted that after initial appointment of the petitioners by the Managing Committee of the school the petitioners continued to remain as untrained teachers and they were required to obtain training in order to qualify for recognition/regularisation of their services. This aspect of the matter has properly been considered by the Three Man Committee and since the petitioners continued to remain untrained, their cases have rightly been rejected.
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7. Although the bone of contention revolves around the fact as to whether since the petitioners continued to remain untrained teachers could be regularised or not but the fact remains that similarly situated female candidates although untrained and serving in the Project Girls High School have been regularised as would be evident from the notification dated 09.02.2011. This fact had never been considered by the Three Man Committee and merely on the guise that the petitioners have remained untrained their claim for recognition/regularisation of their services have been rejected.
8. In view of the aforesaid facts this writ application is disposed of with a direction to the respondent no. 3 to consider the claim of the petitioners and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order. It is further made clear that the report of the Three Man Committee with respect to the case of the petitioners shall not come in the way of respondent No. 3 to take a fresh decision in the matter.
9. It goes without saying that if the petitioners services are recognised/regularised in the school in question consequential benefits arising thereto shall be made available to the petitioners expeditiously.
10. This writ application is, accordingly, disposed of.
11. Pending I.A.'s, if any, also stands disposed of .
(R. Mukhopadhyay, J.) Umesh/-