S. Banerjee, J. - (1.) In the instant writ application the writ petitioner who was serving as a Deputy Director of School Education (Anglo Indian Schools), West Bengal, inter alia, has prayed for issue of a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to cancel and rescind the order or decision if any, taken by them to superannuate the petitioner from service at the age of 58 years i.e. with effect from 30th June, 1994 and to allow the petitioner to continue in service till the date of actual age of retirement being 60 years upon payment of salary regularly month by month, in the aforesaid post of Deputy Director of School Education (Anglo Indian Schools). West Bengal and to forebear from treating the petitioner as retired from service on and from 1st of July, 1994. The petitioner was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in a Government aided high school in September 1957 thereafter, was appointed as a Sub -Inspector of School on 30th March, 1961 at the same scale of pay which he was enjoying as an assistant teacher. While serving as Sub -Inspector of School he was not permitted to go back to his post of assistant teacher. In June, 1965 he was appointed to the post of Deputy Assistant Inspector of Schools thereafter on March, 1976 as an Assistant Inspector of School in the cadre of sub -ordinate education service. Between 1978 and 1981 he was deputed to serve the West Bengal Higher Secondary Council in the capacity of Deputy Secretary (Academic). In the year 1982 the petitioner was promoted to the post of District Inspector of School under the West Bengal Education Service. In 1992 he was appointed in the post of Assistant Director of School Education and thereafter was promoted to the post of Deputy Director of School Education. It is the contention of the petitioner that the post of Deputy Director of School Education belonging to senior education service and is filled up on recommendation of Public Service Commission from amongst the District Inspectors of School/Assistant Directors of School Education/ Headmasters of Government High Schools, who were/are equivalent in all respect of recruitment qualification and experience, scale of pay etc.
(2.) It is the further contention of the petitioner that the inspecting officer of inspecting branch and teachers of all ranks of Government schools and junior basic colleges are inter changeable or inter transferable due to their possessing identical recruitment qualification, experience, scale etc.
(3.) In Paragraph 9 of the writ petition the petitioner has given some example where the incumbents in such post were interchanged or transferred from one to another namely, from the inspection branch to the teaching branch or vice versa. It is the further case of the petitioner that prior to implementation of 2nd Pay Commission with effect from 1st of April, 1981 the incumbents in the inspection branch and the teaching branch belonged to the same service cadre and all of them had to retire at the age of 58 years. But subsequently the retirement age of the teacher of Government school and junior basic institutes were raised to 60 years from 58 years with option upto 65 years without, however, making any change in the age of retirement of the inspection branch of the Education Directorate.;