Punjab-Haryana High Court
Date Of Decision : 26.4.2014 vs State Of Punjab And Others on 26 April, 2014
Author: Rajesh Bindal
Bench: Rajesh Bindal
Singh Varinder
2014.04.26 16:42
CWP No. 5108 of 2014 (1) I attest to the accuracy and integrity
of this document
Punjab & Haryana High Court at
Chandigarh
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
CWP No. 5108 of 2014 (O&M)
Date of decision : 26.4.2014
Shalley Jindal .. Petitioner
versus
State of Punjab and others .. Respondents
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal
Present: Mr. Sapan Dhir, Advocate, for the petitioner.
Mrs. Monica Chhibber Sharma, Dy. Advocate General, Punjab.
Mr. Sukant Gupta, Additional Advocate General, Haryana.
Rajesh Bindal, J.
The petitioner, who applied for the post of Head Mistress in pursuance to the advertisement dated 1.10.2013 issued by the Rashtriya Madhmik Shiksha Abhiyan Authority, has approached this Court with a grievance that her teaching experience certificate is not being countersigned by the District Education Officer, Sirsa. One of the requirement in the advertisement is that certificate of experience from Government/ Government Aided/ Recognised and Affiliated schools (C.B.S.E./ I.C.S.E./P.S.E.B. or the board equivalent to these boards) should be countersigned from District Education Officer (Secondary Education) of the concerned district.
The petitioner in the present case is working in Mata Punna Devi D.A.V. Senior Secondary Public School, Desu Road, Kalanwali, Sirsa, Haryana. She submitted her application for the aforementioned post along with experience certificate, which was countersigned by the Regional Director, C.B.S.E., Panchkula, as the aforementioned school is affiliated with C.B.S.E. In the provisional list which has been uploaded on the website, the deficiencies in the documents furnished by the candidates have been mentioned. In the case of the petitioner, one of the objections is that experience certificate is not countersigned by the District Education Officer.
Singh Varinder 2014.04.26 16:42 CWP No. 5108 of 2014 (2) I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Punjab & Haryana High Court at Chandigarh Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner had approached the District Education Officer, Sirsa, for countersigning the experience certificate but the same was refused on the ground that she has not been authorised to countersign any certificate.
Learned counsel for the State of Haryana has filed short reply on behalf of District Education Officer, Sirsa- respondent no. 3, in Court, which is taken on record. In the reply, it has been stated that she is not competent to countersign the experience certificate obtained from the institution affiliated to C.B.S.E. Learned counsel for the State of Punjab submitted that unless the experience certificate duly countersigned by the District Education officer of the district concerned is produced, the candidature of the petitioner cannot be considered. Process of selection is still going on and the same has not been finalised.
After hearing learned counsel for the parties and considering the factual matrix as noticed above, in my opinion, the action of the District Education Officer, Sirsa, declining to countersign the certificate of teaching experience from a school which is affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, and situated in District Sirsa, is totally illegal.
The school had issued a certificate to the petitioner that she has been teaching in the school from 3.7.2002 onwards for different periods and presently working from 2.4.2009 onwards continuously on regular basis. She has total service experience of 10 years and 3 months. As per condition laid down in the advertisement, the candidate is eligible in case he/ she has teaching experience of 6 years or more. Once the school where the petitioner is working, is situated in District Sirsa, the District Education Officer, Sirsa, being the senior most officer controlling the education at school level, could not refuse to countersign the teaching experience certificate. All what was required for her to countersign the certificate was to verify the contents of the certificate and proceed further. She is directed to do the needful. Mr. Suraj Bhan, Assistant, office of the District Education Officer, Sirsa, is present in Court. He has been apprised of the order passed. For the purpose the petitioner is directed to appear before the District Education Officer, Sirsa, on 29.4.2014. The needful shall be done immediately.
Singh Varinder 2014.04.26 16:42 CWP No. 5108 of 2014 (3) I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Punjab & Haryana High Court at Chandigarh As a matter of abundant caution, it is made clear that the certificate produced by the petitioner, after it is countersigned by the District Education Officer, Sirsa, shall be considered, though it is required to be countersigned by the District Education Officer (Secondary Education). It is for the reason, that there is no post of District Education Officer (Secondary Education) in Haryana as stated by the learned counsel for the State of Haryana. After the petitioner submits her experience certificate to the Deputy Director, Education Recruitment Board, Punjab, her candidature shall be considered.
The writ petition is disposed of accordingly.
26.4.2014 (Rajesh Bindal) vs Judge