- (1.) This special appeal has arisen from an interlocutory order of a learned Single Judge dated 11 March 2015 by which a mandatory direction has been issued to the appellants to issue a letter of appointment to the respondent subject to verification of her eligibility and upon ascertaining the fact of appearance in the process of counselling.
(2.) On 13 November 2011, an advertisement was issued by the State for the appointment of 72,825 Assistant Teachers in basic schools and junior basic schools conducted by the Basic Shiksha Parishad. On 17 December 2014, an order was passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in appeals filed by the State in State of U P Vs Shiv Kumar Pathak Civil Appeals No 4347 -4375 of 2014. By the interim order, the Supreme Court noted that by an earlier order dated 25 March 2014, the State had been directed to fill up the vacancies of Assistant Teachers in pursuance of the advertisement issued in November 2011, in accordance with the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in Shiv Kumar Pathak Vs State of U P Special Appeal (D) No 237 of 2013. By the subsequent direction of the Supreme Court dated 17 December 2014, the State Government was directed to appoint those candidates who had obtained at least 70 percent marks in the Teacher Eligibility Test TET (TET) from the open category and 65 percent marks from the reserved category. The relevant part of the directions which were issued on 17 December 2014 is extracted herein below: "...After hearing the learned counsel for the parties at length on various occasions, we are inclined to modify the order passed on 25th March, 2014, and direct that the State Government shall appoint the candidates whose names have not been weeded out in the malpractice and who have obtained/secured seventy percent marks in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). The candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/Other Backward Classes and the physically handicapped persons, shall be appointed if they have obtained/secured sixty -five percent marks. If there is any policy of the State Government covering any other category for the purpose of reservation, it may be given effect to with the same percentage..."
(3.) The respondent belongs to the open category and has secured 105 marks out of 150 marks in the TET which is equivalent to 70 percent. In the course of the first round of counselling, the cut -off was 123 marks out of 150. In the second round of counselling, the cut -off was 109 marks. The respondent participated in the third round of counselling on 8 November 2014. Directions were issued by the Supreme Court on 17 December 2014 stipulating a cut -off of 70 percent marks for the open category and 65 percent for the reserved category.;