Jharkhand HC Quashes Govt Advert Inviting Applications For 17,972 Graduate Teacher Posts In Secondary Schools [Read Judgment]

In a major setback to the state government, Jharkhand High Court has quashed an advertisement issued by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission inviting applications to the Combined Graduate Trained Teacher Competitive Examination-2016 for appointment to the post of graduate trained teacher in government secondary schools, calling it arbitrary and unconstitutional.

There are a total of 17,972 posts to be filled.

Justice Shree Chandrashekhar passed these directions after hearing a petition filed by Arts and Science graduates who claimed to be aggrieved by the said advertisement.

The said advertisement was notified on December 27, 2016. It sought to club history and civics together as one subject in terms of the eligibility criteria.

This, the petitioners argued, is arbitrary, illegal and contrary to the 2015 Jharkhand Appointment Rules.

Also, in a departure from the past as previously, applications for appointment in history and political science (or civics) were notified separately and appointments were made in both the subjects.

The petitioners submitted that history and political science are two different subjects and restricting the option for a graduate with history or political science breaches the petitioners' rights under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

The state, however, submitted that for history and civics, it requires only one teacher. Relying on Resolution dated March 23, 2012, the government said posts for only 11 teachers were sanctioned for a secondary school, and there is only one post of assistant teacher for both history and civics.

The petitioners then submitted the information provided by the Directorate of Secondary Education, Jharkhand, following an RTI query about the total number of sanctioned posts for secondary schools. According to the information provided, there are 226 sanctioned posts for 15 schools in the state capital alone.

Therefore, the state’s contention was untrue.

The court noted that in the said advertisement of 2016, prescribed qualification in “the subject” under Jharkhand Appointment Rules, 2015, has been substituted by combination of two subjects, however, no explanation is coming forth for not insisting on combination of subjects of economics and geography.

Identifying the crux of the controversy, the court said in humanities, there are four subjects - history, civics, geography and economics. All four subjects are taught in Class-X and XII. And all these subjects have equal importance apart from weightage in the examination.

Additional Advocate General Ajit Kumar contended that the creation of posts is absolute discretion of the government and fixation of qualification is an executive function.

Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh, counsel for the commission, pleaded that when the government has taken a conscious decision to create one post of teacher for “history and civics” and qualification for the said post has been prescribed, “it would be really imprudent if the court interferes with the decision of the government”.

Justice Chandrashekhar observed: “No doubt the State can decide the number of posts, but what is in controversy is, different qualifications for subjects in the same group. It is not in the realm of doubt that different qualifications can be prescribed for different posts, but, different qualifications for the same post would be arbitrary.

A classification of teachers based on subject, of the same standard, and for the same post, creates a classification within the classification which, in the facts of the case, is arbitrary and discriminatory. The candidates with History or Political Science as a subject in the Graduation have been discriminated from the candidates with Economics or Geography as a subject at Graduation level. If by providing a different qualification for a Graduate with History or Civics, the object sought to be achieved is to appoint one teacher for “History and Civics”, but one teacher each for Economics and Geography from the same group of Humanities, least to say, it would frustrate the mandate under Article 16 of the Constitution of India.”

Thus, the advertisement was set aside and a fresh advertisement has now been directed to be issued.

In further relief to the students, those who could not apply earlier due to the eligibility criteria have now been allowed to do so.

Read the Judgment here.

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