S. K. Dhaon, J. - (1.) THE petitioner is really aggrieved by the decision dated 21st February, 1986, given by the U. P. Secondary Education Services Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) to the effect that he could not be considered for promotion as a Lecturer in Commerce in the Moti Ram Babu Ram Inter College, Haldwani (hereinafter referred to as the College), as he had not put in five years' service on 30th June, 1984, when the vacancy arose. Hence this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.
(2.) THE material facts are these. On 8th July, 1968, the petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher in the C.T. Grade in the College. He was promoted as an Assistant Teacher in the L.T. Grade on 27th October, 1979. On 30th June, 1984, a clear vacancy arose for the post of Lecturer in Commerce. On 3rd December, 1984, the petitioner was promoted as a Lecturer on ad-hoc basis. THE Management forwarded the name of the petitioner to the Commission for according approval to his appointment as a Lecturer. Rule 9 of the U. P. Secondary Education Service Commission Rules, 1983 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) runs :- " Where any vacancy is to be filled by promotion, of teachers working in the L.T. or C.T. Grade, who possess the minimum qualifications and have put in at least five years continuous service as teacher on the date of occurrence of vacancy shall be considered for promotion to the Lecturer or L.T. Grade, as the case may be, without their having applied for the same." Admittedly on 30th June, 1984, the petitioner had not put in five years continuous service as a teacher in the L.T. Grade. The submission is that it is not the requirement of Rule 9, as extracted above, that a teacher should have put in at least five years continuous service either in the L.T. or in the C.T. Grade for being eligible for promotion to the higher Grade. The only requirement is that there should be at least five years continuous service to the credit of a particular teacher. To put it differently, for computing five years continuous service the total number of years put in by a person as a teacher in the C.T. and L.T. Grade combined should be taken into account. The words " as the case may be " are referable not to the number of years of continuous service but to the filling in of the vacancy by promotion either in the Lecturer or in the L.T. Grade. The submission is specious. The submission should be treated by confining the operation of Rule 9 to the filling up a vacancy in the Lecturer's Grade by promotion. If read in that light, the requirement of the Rule, so far as the present controversy is concerned should be that any teacher working in the L.T. grade who has put in at least five years continuous service as a teacher on the date of occurrence of vacancy shall be considered for promotion. There can .be a situation where an individual has been a teacher in the C.T. grade for 4 years and 364 days and has worked as a teacher in the L.T. Grade only for one day, yet, if the interpretation sought to be put by the petitioner is correct, he will be eligible for being considered for promotion. However, if a person has been directly appointed as a teacher in the L.T. Grade and has put in continuous service for 4 years and 364 days he will not be eligible for being considered for promotion to the Lecturer's Grade. Such a situation not only sounds startling but will also be anomalous. A person who has worked only for one day will be considered ; whereas a person who has worked for 4 years and 364 days will not be considered for promotion. It is well known that so far as possible Courts should not encourage an interpretation, which may lead not only to anomalous results but also injustice. Further the interpretation put by the learned counsel will apply only in the case of promotion to the Lecturer's grade from amongst the teachers working in the L.T. Grade. A teacher working in the C.T. grade cannot be considered for promotion to the L.T. Grade even if he has worked in the C.T. Grade for 4 years and 364 days. It is to be remembered that the field of operation of Rule 9 is in regard to promotion both to the L.T. as well as to the Lecturer's Grade and has its effect on teachers working both in the C.T. as well as in the L.T. Grade. By the use of the expression " as the case may be " the framers of the Rule intended that a teacher desirous of being considered for being promoted from the L.T. Grade as a Lecturer should have atleast five years continuous service as teacher in the L.T. Grade. Similar will be the situation for a teacher being promoted to the L.T. Grade from the C.T. Grade.
(3.) REGULATION 6 of Chapter II of the REGULATIONs framed under the U. P. Intermediate Education Act, 1921 read :- " 6 (1) Where any vacancy in the lecturer's grade or in the L.T. Grade as determined and regulation 5, is to be filled by promotion, all teachers working in the L.T. or the C.T. grade, as the case may be, having a minimum five years continuous substantive service to their credit on the date of occurrence of the vacancy shall be considered for promotion by the Committee of Management without their having to apply for the same provided they possess the prescribed minimum qualifications for teaching the subject in which the teacher in the lecturer's grade or in the L.T. Grade is required. " This regulation came up for interpretation in the case of Committee of Management, Sri Param Hans Intermediate College v. Additional Director of Education U. P. Allahabad, 1981 UP LB and EC 50. A Division Bench of this Court held that the phrase " all teachers working in the L.T. or C.T. grades, as the case may be " clearly meant that for filing the lecturer's grade post only C.T. grade teachers and for filling up L.T. grade the field of eligibility was C.T. grade teachers and they should have five years service as such, namely, in the L.T. Grade or in the C.T. Grade Service was not relevant for the purpose of computing the minimum five years service for promotion to the lecturer's grade. The present Rule 9 of the Rules was not there initially. The former Rule 9 provided that where any vacancy is to be filled by promotion, all teachers working in the L.T. or C.T. grade, who possess the minimum qualifications and have put in at least five years continuous service as teacher in the concerned subject on the date of occurrence of vacancy shall be considered for promotion without their having applied for the same. The note appended to this Rule provided that for the purposes of the aforementioned Rule, service rendered by a teacher in the L.T. or the C.T. grade in any other recognised institution shall count for eligibility, unless interrupted by removal, dismissal or reduction to a lower post.;