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2012 DIGILAW 208 (PAT)

Pramod Kumar Kushwaha v. State of Bihar

2012-02-02

MIHIR KUMAR JHA

body2012
ORDER MIHIR KUMAR JHA, J. Heard learned counsel for the parties. 2. The Court is of the considered opinion that the petitioner being Panchayat Teacher has got no right to claim the post of Headmaster or even In-charge Headmaster, inasmuch as, he is only a Panchayat Teacher, who in the order of this Court dated 23.1.2012 in C.W.J.C. No. 6724 of 2008 Smt. Meena Sinha Vs. State of Bihar and others have been held to be ineligible. This Court in the case of Meena Sinha (supra) has infact held as follows:- "The question, therefore, would be as to whether these Panchayat Teachers could qualify for being promoted on the post of Headmaster/ Headmistress in an Elementary School in terms of 1993 Rules or the recent 2011 Rules. From the conjoint reading of Primary Teachers Appointment Rules-1993 or promotion Rules-2011, it would be clear that only regularly appointed Matric Trained Teacher having earned the promotion as a B.A trained teacher would qualify for promotion on the post of Headmaster/ Headmistress in an Elementary School. In fact 1993 Rules also prescribes the qualification of Post Graduation apart from being trained as a condition precedent for promotion on the post of Headmaster/Headmistress of an Elementary School. It is true that the promotion Rule 1993 have been repealed by another statutory Rules dated 01.09.2011 namely, Bihar Rajkiyakrit Prarambhik Vidyalaya Shikshak Rules 2011(hereinafter referred to as the 2011 Rules), wherein, the post of Headmaster has to be filled up from amongst the Post Graduate trained teacher in grade-I or Grade-II of graduate trained teacher and in absence thereof even from amongst the graduate trained teachers with four years minimum experience but then such promotion has to be confined only to the teachers of the district cadre which has been exclusively defined in Rule-2(XII) of 2011 Rules to mean such teachers who have been appointed in the Primary School in the pay scale. Thus on an over all review of the statutory Rules, it becomes clear that the Panchayat Teacher can never qualify for being promoted on the post of Headmaster /Headmistress in an Elementary School and the post of such Headmaster/Headmistress has to be filled up from amongst the teachers of the district cadre having at least the qualification of being the trained Post Graduate or trained graduate. In service jurisprudence there is always a concept of making current charge arrangement on a higher post but then such current charge arrangement to a person even in his or her own pay scale can be given, if he or she would possess the requisite qualification and fulfil other terms and conditions of eligibility as laid down under the statutory Rules. A higher post including the post of Headmaster/Headmistress cannot be filled up from amongst the teachers who do not qualify for being promoted on the post of teacher. A peon or clerk working in the Elementary Schools of the State of Bihar cannot be made Incharge Headmaster/Headmistress only because the competent Authority has not posted regularly appointed teacher in the prescribed pay scale having qualification and fulfilling the eligibility conditions have become Headmaster/Headmistress in such Schools. The concept of filling of the higher post on Current Charge or Incharge Basis cannot be made farce by making anyone to hold such post." 3. Thus the prayer of the petitioner for being declared as incharge Headmaster of the School must be and is hereby rejected and though the Respondent no. 10 is senior to the petitioner he too being a Panchayat Teacher cannot be assigned the work and duty of the post of Headmaster. 4. As with regard to grievance of the petitioner relating to payment of his salary for the admitted work done the same can still be examined by the District Teachers Appellate Authority which is the competent authority in terms of Rule 18 of the Bihar Panchayat Teacher Appointment Rules to settled the issue of payment of salary, inasmuch as, the payment of salary is also part of service condition of a Panchayat Teacher. 5. That being so, this application is disposed of with a liberty to the petitioner to approach the competent Panchayat Secretary for redressal of his grievance as with regard to payment of salary. 6. It goes without saying that if the petitioner would approach the Panchayat Secretary, he will take his decision within a period of three months from the date of filing of the representation along with the copy of this order. 7. With the aforementioned observations and liberty, this application is disposed of.