- (1.)HEARD counsel for the parties.
(2.)THE petitioner has sought a direction upon the respondent no. 3-The Regional Deputy Director of Education, South Chhotanagpur Division, Ranchi to consider the case of the petitioner for age relaxation and approve his appointment to the post of Assistant Teacher in Bhartiya Model Middle School, Arya Samaj, Sakchi, Jamshedpur, a Government aided minority school.
According to the petitioner, he participated on the basis of an advertisement (Annexure-1) for appointment of teachers against six sanctioned post of teachers in the said school where eligibility criteria as per the notice, was matric (trained or untrained) and no upper age limit was prescribed. The petitioner passed the requisite written test and was declared successful in the said test. He received the joining letter on 31st March 1999 under the signature of the Secretary of the said school, whereafter, he was appointed against the sanctioned post effective from the date of his joining. The joining letter is annexed as annexure-2. It is submitted on his part that as per his date of birth i.e. 1st February 1962, at the time of his joining he was 37 years and 02 months and a proposal was sent to the District Superintendent of Education, East Singhbhum to give the departmental approval of appointment of five teachers vide letter no. 833 dated 1st June 2001 followed by reminder dated 9th November 2001. The District Superintendent of Education, East Singhbhum forwarded the same to the Regional Deputy Director of Education, South Chhotanagpur Division, Ranchi (Respondent No. 3) seeking permission for relaxation of the age of the petitioner vide annexure-5. However, when no action was taken by the RDDE (Respondent No. 3) who was competent to take such a decision, even after lapse of more than three years, the petitioner was compelled to move this court. The petitioner has relied upon the cases of Mrs. Jambanti Singh and Mrs. Siksha Chakraborty, Assistant Teachers, Bhartiya Model Middle School, Sakchi in whose cases similar relaxation was given by the RDDE vide annexure-7.

(3.)IT is the contention of the petitioner that as per the rule, age can be relaxed up to five years in case of trained teachers and the RDDE has been empowered to take a decision in this regard and he was only two years and two months more than the maximum age limit . According to the petitioner, he has been continuously working after his joining in 1999, but has not been paid his salary. The petitioner has therefore moved this court.