Vipan Kumar vs State of H.P. and Others

Surjit Singh, J.—Petitioner and Respondent No. 5 Jitender Verma were posted as Trained Graduate Teachers (Non-medical), in Government Senior Secondary School, Bhota, when notification, regarding rationalization of staff, Annexure P-3, was issued on 16th August, 2010. As per that notification, out of the two posts of Trained Graduate Teachers (Non-medical), in Government Senior Secondary School, Bhota, one post has been declared surplus and shifted to Government Senior Secondary School, Nand in District Solan. Notification has a note, at the end, which reads as follows:

In case any TGT transferred/adjusted in these orders happens to on census duty, he/she shall be relieved to new place of posting after he/she report back from census duty. However, in such cases their lien shall stand shifted to their new place of posting and the salary will be drawn accordingly.

Petitioner, as per notification Annexure P-3, had been shifted from Government Senior Secondary School, Bhota, along with one post of Trained Graduate Teacher (Non-medical), to Government Secondary School, Nand (Solan District). He made a representation to Director (Education), alleging that as per Rationalization Policy, the person with longer stay was required to be shifted along with the post and that stay of Respondent No. 5 being longer compared to him, the said Respondent and not he ought to have been shifted to Government Senior Secondary School, Nand. His representation was accepted and Corrigendum Annexure P-5 (dated 25th August, 2010) was issued. Thereafter, another Office Order was issued in September, 2010, copy Annexure P-6, by which Respondent No. 5 has been ordered to be retained and the Petitioner has been shifted along with the post to Government Senior Secondary School, Nand. Reason for retaining Respondent No. 5, as mentioned in the Office Order Annexure P-6, is that he has been deployed for census duty.

Reply has been filed by Respondents No. 1 to 4. Respondent No. 5 adopts the same reply. In the reply, it is stated that since Respondent No. 5 has been deployed for census duty, he has been retained at Government Senior Secondary School, Bhota and the Petitioner shifted.

I have heard learned Counsel for the Petitioner, learned Deputy Advocate General representing Respondents No. 1 to 4 and learned Counsel for Respondent No. 5.

On behalf of Respondent No. 5, it has been submitted that Government of India has written a D.O. Letter dated 12th February, 2010 to all the Chief Secretaries, impressing upon them not to shift/transfer any official deployed for census duty till 31st March, 2011 and it is because of this reason that instead of Respondent No. 5, Petitioner has been shifted to Government Senior Secondary School, Nand (Solan District). Submission has been noticed only to be rejected. Rationalization Notification, Annexure P-3, itself provides for not shifting the teachers deployed for census duty, until they report back, after completing the census job. The Notification further provides that lien of such persons shall stand shifted to the School to which they are shifted along with the post and their salary shall also be drawn against the shifted post. That means till the teachers deployed on census duty report back, after accomplishing census job, they are, in fact, not shifted to the Schools to which the posts held by them are shifted.

In view of the above stated position, writ petition is allowed and impugned Office Order, Annexure P-6, is quashed.