Sundeep Kumar vs State of J. and K. and Others

J.P. Singh, J.—Petitioner, Sundeep Kumar, has filed this Petition seeking quashing of the recommendations made by the Village Level

Education Committee of Primary School, Charya, selecting Shib Devi, respondent No. 6, as Rehbar-e-Taleem for Primary School, Charya,

besides issuance of a Writ of Mandamus to the respondents to reconvene the Village Level Education Committee to consider the petitioner for

selection as Rehbar-e-Taleem, in accordance with the judgment delivered by this Court in LPA (SW) No. 59/2007.

The facts giving rise to this Petition may be stated thus:

Shib Devi, respondent No. 6, filed Writ Petition SWP No. 234/2004 in this Court questioning the petitioner's selection as third teacher in Primary

School, Charya on the ground that being a resident of village Kandote he was not entitled to selection as Rehbar-e-Taleem for Primary School,

Charya.

Her Writ Petition was allowed quashing the petitioner's selection and engagement as third teacher in Government Boys Primary School, Charya

and issuing a direction to the official respondents to appoint Shib Devi as third teacher in the Government Boys Primary School, Charya.

The petitioner appealed against the judgment of the Writ Court by his LPA(SW) No. 59/2007, which was allowed holding as follows:

There cannot be any dispute that a village mentioned in the order of the Government should be deemed to be such a village which is identifiable as

such from the Government records and that can only be the records of the revenue department of the Government and, accordingly, we have no

hesitation in accepting the contention of the learned Counsel for the State as well as the appellant that the concept of village propounded in the said

order is a revenue village. However, according to the said order, such revenue village can have only one village level committee which shall be

entitled to deal with all educational institutions within the village. We are told that there is one more school situate in the village and known as

Government Girls Primary School, Kandote which is also within the jurisdiction of that village level committee which is in seizen over the other

School namely, Government Boys Primary School, Charaya. Since the procedure prescribed is required to be followed for doing what has been

prescribed, and since we are of the view that the procedure prescribed has not been followed in the instant case, we would not interfere with that

part of the judgment and order under appeal by which the appointment of the appellant has been cancelled but, at the same time, we shall interfere

with that part of the judgment and order under appeal by which the petitioner has been permitted to occupy the vacancy which was hitherto before

supplied by the appellant and, accordingly, that part of the judgment and order is set aside.

We remit back the matter to the Zonal Education Officer with a direction upon him to constitute village level committee in terms of the directions

contained in the said Government order, if not already constituted; hold a meeting or meetings, as the case maybe, of the village level committee in

relation to the vacancies to be supplied in the schools situate within the jurisdiction of the village level committee; select candidates and give

appointments to them within a period of one month from today. Inasmuch as the appellant is working in one of the schools and inasmuch as there is

one more vacancy in another school, we direct the appellant to work in the school he is working for a period of two months from today only.

Permission accorded to the appellant to work for two months in the school where he is working by this order will not earn any advantage in his

favour in any manner whatsoever. It is made clear that the selection pursuant to this order shall remain confined only amongst those candidates who

were within the zone of consideration at the time of the earlier selection resulting in filing of the present writ petition, and, accordingly, question of

any of such candidates being over aged shall not apply.

Being of the view that the Division Bench of this Court had upheld the learned Single Judge's view of non-suiting Sundeep Kumar for selection

as Rehbar-e-Taleem, the Village Level Committee, Kandote for Primary School, Charya, recommended Shib Devi as the only eligible candidate fit

for selection as Rehbar-e-Taleem in Primary School, Charya.

A plain reading of the Hon'ble Division Bench's judgment, clearly demonstrates that the selection for the post of Rehbar-e-Taleem for Primary

School, Charya was to be considered by the Village Level Education Committee from amongst those candidates who were within the zone of

consideration when the selection was first held. In other words, the petitioner, who was a candidate in the earlier selection, too, was to be

considered within the zone of consideration and he was required to be considered for selection.

The Village Level Committee has thus fallen in error in misconstruing the judgment of the Hon'ble Division Bench to mean that the Court had non

suited the petitioner in seeking consideration for selection as Rehbar-e-Taleem for Primary School, Charya, when nothing of this sort had been said

by the Division Bench and the only ground on which the petitioner's earlier selection had been set aside, was that the Village Level Committee had

not followed the proper procedure in making the selection of the petitioner.

The penultimate paragraph of the judgment makes it explicit that the matter had been remitted to the Zonal Education Officer to constitute the

Village Level Education Committee for holding its meetings in relation to the vacancies to be supplied in the Schools situated within the jurisdiction

of the Village Level Committee; select candidates and give appointments to them. The selection in question for Primary School, Charya had,

however, been restricted to the applicants who were within the zone of consideration at the time of the earlier selection.

The petitioner, being one of the eligible candidates at the time of earlier selection was thus one of the contestants who could not be ignored

consideration by the Village Level Committee.

The decision taken by the Village Level Committee is, thus, erroneous and a result of mis-interpretation of the judgment delivered by the

Division Bench.

The decision taken by the Village Level Committee, selecting Shib Devi as Rehbar-e-Taleem for Primary School, Charya, therefore, needs to

be set aside.

Accordingly, allowing this Petition, Village Level Education Committee for Primary School, Charya's decision recommending Shib Devi's

selection for engagement as Rehbar-e-Taleeem for Primary School, Charya is quashed and the matter remitted to the Zonal Education Officer,

Thathri to carry out the selection as directed by the Division Bench vide its judgment dated 12.02.2009, considering the petitioner too, for

selection against the post of Rehbar-e-Taleem for Primary School, Charya.