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2017 DIGILAW 543 (JHR)

Shashi Kant Mishra v. State Of Jharkhand

2017-03-21

APARESH KUMAR SINGH

body2017
ORDER Aparesh Kumar Singh, J. – Heard counsel for the parties. 2. Petitioner is an Assistant Teacher in Middle School, Nengtasai, Gamharia having been appointed on 3rd January, 2004. In respect of the present exercise for recruitment to the post of Graduate Trained Teacher under Advertisement no.21/2016 (Combined Graduate Trained Teacher Competitive Examination, 2016), petitioner has sought age relaxation as a one time measure. The Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of Jharkhand has notified the Jharkhand Government Secondary School Teaching and Non-Teaching Employees Recruitment and Service Conditions Rules, 2015 w.e.f. 1st March, 2016 as per the notification enclosed at Annexure-3. Chapter-6, Rule-9(I) lays down a quota of 25% for serving elementary school teachers who have completed five years of experience. Clause-(v) of the same Rules prescribes the age criteria which is as under :- "(v) ftl iapkax o"kZ esa fu;qfDr ds fy;s foKkiu fudkyk tk;sxk] ml o"kZ dh igyh tuojh dks mEehnokj dh vk;q U;wure 21 o"kZ rFkk vf/kdre dksfVokj fuEu:is.k gksxh%& fodkykax gsrq 1- lkekU; dksfV 40 o"kZ 45 o"kZ 2- efgyk ( vukjf{kr@fiNM+k oxZ@vR;ar fiNM+k oxZ ) 43 o"kZ 48 o"kZ 3- vU; ( fiNM+k oxZ ) 42 o"kZ 47 o"kZ 4- vuqlwfpr ( tkfr iq:"k@efgyk ) 45 o"kZ 50 o"kZ 5- vuqlwfpr ( tutkfr iq:"k@efgyk ) 45 o"kZ 50 o"kZ " ijUrq] ljdkjh izkjfEHkad fo|ky;ksa dsl f''k{kdksa dks vf/kdre mez lhek esa 5 o"kksZa dh NwV nh tk;sxhA " 3. The Advertisement No.21/2016 (Annexure-4) is in conformity with the rules and also prescribes age relaxation of five years to the serving elementary school teachers in the respective category i.e. General, Female/OBC for Schedule-I, Backward Class (Schedule-II) and OBC (Schedule-I), Backward Class (Schedule-II), Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Male and Female). Petitioner contends that on account of the delay in holding examination after five years from the last Advertisement No.93/2011 candidates like the petitioner have been rendered ineligible on account of age alone. Therefore age relaxation has been prayed for. Reliance is placed on letter of Bihar Government (Annexure-7) and instructions of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in matters relating to appointment to the Kendriya Vidyalayas (Annexure-6). Reliance is also placed on a judgment rendered by the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Bhola Nath Rajak & Ors. v. The State of Jharkhand & Ors. Reliance is placed on letter of Bihar Government (Annexure-7) and instructions of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in matters relating to appointment to the Kendriya Vidyalayas (Annexure-6). Reliance is also placed on a judgment rendered by the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Bhola Nath Rajak & Ors. v. The State of Jharkhand & Ors. being W.P.(S) No.7526 of 2013 dated 16th January 2014 rendered in the matter of recruitment to Civil Judge (Junior Division) within the State. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that because of official lethargy and bureaucratic delay, the recruitment exercise is being held after such long intervals resulting in denial of opportunity to the eligible candidates only on account of age bar. Therefore, as one time measure such relaxation should be granted. 5. Learned counsel for the respondents and the Commission both have opposed the prayer of the petitioner. It is submitted that the advertisement is in conformity with the rules. It prescribes further period of five years relaxation to what is available to the candidates for direct recruitment under their respective categories. It is also submitted that rules have not been shown to be arbitrary or irrational. The rules are also not under challenge. In such circumstances any resort to the power of removal of difficulty clause under Rule 16 would also not come to the aid of the petitioner as there is no difficulty in enforcing the rules. Recruitment exercise has been held immediately after the notification of the new rules after computation of the pending vacancies in the various high schools of the State. It is submitted that a similar challenge to the age limit by a candidate seeking recruitment to the category of physical trained teacher has been declined by a Coordinate Bench of this Court in W.P.(S) No.1310 of 2017. 6. I have considered the submissions of the parties and gone through the relevant materials on record. The rules are not under challenge in the present writ application. It is further apparent that in service elementary school teachers have been granted 5 years age relaxation compared to the candidates for direct recruitment. The rules prescribes the eligibility criteria and conditions for recruitment of the Graduate Trained Teachers to the secondary school which is a class in itself and cannot permit comparison with class of other teachers as relied upon by the counsel for the petitioner. The rules prescribes the eligibility criteria and conditions for recruitment of the Graduate Trained Teachers to the secondary school which is a class in itself and cannot permit comparison with class of other teachers as relied upon by the counsel for the petitioner. It further appears that the provisions of the circular of the Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Raj Bhasha Department, Government of Jharkhand laying down the age limit for recruitment in General to the services within the State prescribes 35 years of age for the General category candidate and proportional higher age limits to the candidates belonging to the reserved candidates i.e. horizontal and vertical i.e. S.C., S.T., B.C. or O.B.C. or female/physically handicapped/sports persons, etc. In that way the instant rules provides a higher age limit to the candidate for direct recruitment and still five years relaxation to the serving elementary school teachers. The rationality of the conditions is not in question in the instant case. The advertisement is in full conformity with the rules, rather the cut-off date laid down is 1st January, 2016 itself though the advertisement has come in the year 2017. It would mean that the persons who could have become overage by laying down cut off date 1st January 2017 would still be eligible on account of cut off date of 1st January, 2016. The recruitment exercise is being held after a gap of 5 years and in that sense the proportionate age relaxation of 5 years to the serving elementary school teachers is fully in consonance with the equity and justice to their cause also. The reliance of the petitioner on the judgment rendered by the learned Division Bench of this Court in the case of Bhola Nath Rajak (supra) however in the opinion of this Court would not come to their aid as they were rendered in the special facts and circumstances of that case. 7. In the facts of the present case as noted herein above, 5 years age relaxation has already been given under the rules itself to the serving candidates when the present recruitment exercise is being held after almost five years from the previous one. In the totality of the facts and for the reasons and discussions made herein above, this Court does not find any reason to interfere in the matter. Accordingly writ petition is dismissed.