ANJU CHAUDHARY Vs. STATE OF U. P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This intra-court appeal is against the judgment and order dtd. 20/6/2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ A No. 2125 of 2022, whereby the writ petition of the appellant (i.e. the petitioner) has been dismissed.

(2.) Writ A No. 2125 of 2022 was filed by the appellant for quashing the order dtd. 20/12/2021 passed by the Director of Higher Education, U.P., Prayagraj (for short the Director) rejecting her representation for her placement as Principal of either Gokul Das Hindu Girls' College, Moradabad or Acharya Narendra Dev Nagar Nigam Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Harsh Nagar, Kanpur.

(3.) In brief, the facts giving rise to the present appeal are as follows. Pursuant to an advertisement issued by the U.P. Higher Education Service Commission, Prayagraj (for short the Commission), inviting applications for 290 posts of Principal in various graduate and post-graduate colleges in the State of Uttar Pradesh, the petitioner applied for appointment and, after undergoing the selection process, was placed at serial no. 200 in the revised merit / select list dtd. 5/10/2021. Dr. Charu Mehrotra (respondent no.5), who participated in the same selection process, was placed at serial no. 205, and Dr. Sunita Arya (respondent no. 6), who was placed at serial no 218, were placed in those colleges which were higher in the order of preference of the petitioner than where the petitioner was placed by the Director. The case of the petitioner is that in her preference /option list of colleges for placement, pursuant to her selection, she had given multiple options in the order of preference. In that list, Gokul Das Hindu Girls' College, Moradabad was at serial no. 20 whereas, Acharya Narendra Dev Nagar Nigam Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Harsh Nagar, Kanpur was at serial no. 34 in the order of preference. However, the petitioner was placed at Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Kidwai Nagar, Kanpur, which was at serial no. 41 in the order of preference given by the petitioner. On the other hand, the respondent no.5 (Dr. Charu Mehrotra), who was placed at serial no. 205 in the merit list, and respondent no.6 (Dr. Sunita Arya), who was placed at serial no. 218 in the merit list, were placed by the Director in Gokul Das Hindu Girls' College, Moradabad and Acharya Narendra Dev Nagar Nigam Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Harsh Nagar, Kanpur, respectively. According to the petitioner, since she was placed higher in the final / revised merit list than the respondents 5 and 6, she ought to have been preferred over respondent no. 5 for her placement in Gokul Das Hindu Girls' College, if not there, then over respondent no.6 for her placement in Acharya Narendra Dev Nagar Nigam Kanya Mahavidyalaya. But since the petitioner was not given the due placement, she filed a representation before the Director. When the representation was not addressed, she filed Writ A No. 17108 of 2021, which was disposed off by order dtd. 9/12/2021 thereby requiring the Director to decide the claim of the petitioner, in accordance with law, by a reasoned order, after giving opportunity of hearing to the respondent no.5 (Dr. Charu Mehrotra). It was also provided therein that till the representation of the petitioner is not decided, the petitioner shall not be forced to join the allotted college, namely, Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Kidwai Nagar, Kanpur. Pursuant to the order dtd. 9/12/2021, the representation of the petitioner was decided and rejected by the Director by order dtd. 20/12/2021 impugned in Writ A No. 2125 of 2022 out of which the present appeal arises.