HARISH TANDON,J. - (1.) THE parties have been litigating since the Year 1999 relating to the selection of a primary teacher by the District Primary School Council, North 24 Parganas.
(2.) THE petitioners in this contempt applications enrolled themselves in the Employment Exchange within the said district under the different category viz. Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe, Other Backward Classes and Physically Handicapped etc. Although they were registered in the Employment Exchange but their names could not be sponsored for a considerable period of 18 years. However, the process for recruitment of a primary teacher commenced in the year 1996 for filling up the 1157 posts of Assistant Teacher in different primary schools. The petitioners ' name were sponsored and were further allowed to fill up the form providing the requisite details and particulars. The said Council prepared and published the panel which does not include the name of the petitioners. 105 persons including the petitioners challenged the said panel in writ petition being W.P. No. 1777 (W) of 1999. On several grounds namely; the Council did not reserve 50% of the post for trained candidates, foreign nationals have been appointed, reservation of 3% of the total vacancies for handicapped persons were not maintained and the persons who did not render 240 days in census work have been allowed to participate under the Exempted Category. At the time of moving the said writ petition, it was observed that the neither of the reliefs claimed in the writ petition involve the point of public importance and, therefore, should be placed before the bench taking up the public interest litigation. The Division Bench, however, set aside the said order and observed that the matter does not involve any public importance and granted liberty to the writ petitioners therein to add and/or implead the foreign nationals who had been appointed by the said Council.
(3.) PURSUANT to the liberty granted for addition of alleged foreign nationals as party respondent therein and application was taken out which was eventually allowed. By judgment dated April 20, 2004, the Director of the School Education was directed to scrutinize the panel in terms of the Recruitment and Leave Rules of Primary Teacher of the year 1991. The said authority was, further, directed to find out the illegalities or irregularities in the panel and if the same is detected, the said authority shall exclude those selected candidates. It was further observed that while scrutinizing the panel, the said authority shall also see that whether the petitioners therein are entitled to be empanelled or not. The Chairman, District Primary School Council was also directed to produce all the records and papers to the Director of the School Education for compliance of the above directions.;