Bhaskar Bhattacharya, J. - (1.) This mandamus-appeal is at the instance of unsuccessful writ petitioners and is directed against the order dated July 5, 2002 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court thereby dismissing the writ application filed by the appellants. In the said writ application, the writ petitioners challenged the order dated 17th May, 2000 passed by the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore, by which the said District Inspector of Schools dismissed the representation of the appellants for the approval of their appointments in the concerned school as organizer-staff.
(2.) The facts leading to the filing of the present mandamus-appeal may be summed up thus: - (a) The writ petitioners are eight in number. The petitioner No.1 claimed to be the organizer-Headmaster, the petitioner Nos. 2 to 6 as organizer-teachers, the petitioner No.7 as organizer-clerk and the petitioner No.8 as organizer Class-IV staff of one Sardiha Anchalik Junior High School, Village-Baharakotha, P. S. -Jhargram, District-Midnapore (hereinafter referred to as the concerned school). According to the writ petitioners, the said school had been functioning continuously with effect from 16th January, 1986 and they entered into the service of the said school after being duly appointed by the Organizing Committee of the said school. They, however, claimed that the school really started on January 1, 1974 but due to financial stringency, after two academic sessions, the school ceased to function and was subsequently, started operating from January, 1986 after the local public decided to revive the same by forming an Organizing Managing Committee and appointing organising-staff through the said Committee. (b) The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for the first time recognized the said School as IV-Class Junior High School for three years with effect from 1st May, 1994 and subsequently, the recognition of the said school was extended for further three years with effect from May 1, 1997. (c) After the first recognition of the school, the writ petitioners prayed for approval of their appointments as regular staff and also for payment of salary and allowance from 1 st May, 1994 before the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary Education) Midnapore. Since no reply was given by the District Inspector of Schools, they moved a writ application before this Court praying for direction upon the District Inspector of Schools for the approval of their appointment being C. O. No. 19073 (W) of 1994. (d) Shyamal Kumar Sen, J. (as His Lordship then was) on 13th March, 1997 appointed Mr. Amal Kumar Das, a learned Advocate of this Court as Special Officer to carry on the day-to-day administration of the said school since the life of the Managing Committee of the said school had already expired and the learned Special Officer was directed to take all steps necessary to reconstitute the Managing Committee as early as possible. The Special Officer was further directed to send the names of the organizing-teachers, who, he considered, were entitled to be approved by the District Inspector of Schools, Midnapore and His Lordship also directed the District Inspector of Schools, Midnapore to take appropriate decision on the question of approval of the appointment of the writ petitioners in accordance with law. (e) The learned Special Officer considered the cases for approval of appointments of the writ petitioners and decided that all the writ petitioners were entitled to be approved in their respective posts and accordingly, by his letter dated 25th June, 1997 recommended the names of the writ petitioners for being approved to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore, since the date of first recognition of the school, namely, May 1, 1994. (f) By memo dated 11th December, 1997, the Acting District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore, rejected the case of the writ petitioners for being approved and accordingly, the writ petitioners challenged the aforesaid order of the Acting District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore by filing an interlocutory application being C. A. N. No. 27 of 1998 in the writ application and Shyamal Kumar Sen, J., by order dated 27th October, 1998, directed the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore to take appropriate steps regarding the report of the Special Officer dated 25th June, 1997. After the receipt of the order, the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore approved the appointments of the writ petitioners. (g) However, after approving the appointments of the writ petitioners, the District Inspector of Schools subsequently passed an order directing withdrawal of the approval made by him in the earlier memo, as a result, the writ petitioners filed another writ application before this Court being W. P. No. 6365 (W) of 1999 and the same was disposed of by Tarun Chatterjee, J. (as His Lordship then was) by order dated 25th February, 2000 thereby setting aside the order of the District Inspector of Schools and directing him to hear the writ petitioners and all other interested persons and to pass necessary order in accordance with law within a specified time. While disposing of such writ application, Chatterjee, J., however, observed that Shyamal Kumar Sen, J. while disposing of the writ application "gave a go-by to the memo dated 12th November, 1997 (sic 11th December, 1997) of the Acting District Inspector of School". (h) Pursuant to the direction given by Chatterjee, J., the District Inspector of Schools heard the matter afresh and by the order dated 17th May, 2000 came to the conclusion that the concerned school being a newly set-up one without any organizing-staff, there was no question of approval of any organizing-staff and the staff should be recruited direct in pursuance of the employment policy of the Government. The District Inspector of Schools rather disbelieved the case of the writ petitioners that they were the organizer-staff of the said school. (i) Being dissatisfied, the writ petitioners preferred a fresh writ application being W. P. No. 11542 (W) of 2000 and by the order impugned herein Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, J. has refused to interfere with the order passed by the District Inspector of Schools. While dismissing the writ application, His Lordship came to the conclusion that the District Inspector of Schools did not commit any error in arriving at his finding that the writ petitioners were not entitled to be approved as teaching and non-teaching staff of the school. (j) Being dissatisfied, the present mandamus-appeal has been filed. At the time of disposal of an application for stay in connection with this appeal, a Division Bench of this Court disposed of the appeal itself by holding that in view of the disposal of the application for stay, there remained nothing more to be decided in the mandamus-appeal. The writ petitioners preferred a Special Leave Application before the Supreme Court of India against the said order of dismissal of the appeal and the Apex Court, ultimately, set aside the order of the said Division Bench and remanded the matter back to this Court for hearing of the mandamus-appeal on merit after considering the submissions of the appellants taken in the memorandum of appeal.
(3.) Accordingly, the matter has been assigned to this Bench for hearing of this appeal.;