MASOOD AHMAD BHAT Vs. STATE & ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appointment to the post of ReT Teacher in Village Aragam is the subject matter of controversy in the present writ petition. Selection of the private respondents 4 to 7 has been questioned in this writ petition by the petitioner.

(2.) Advertisement in the year 2000 for filling the post of Rehbar-e-Taleem in village Aragam Bandipora was issued by the respondents. Twenty two candidates are stated to have applied for their selection/appointment as Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers. A select list was prepared by the respondents. Due to availability of only two posts, two candidates Sanjay Kumar and Ghulam Noorani Khan were engaged as Relibar-e-Taleem teachers on 27th of September, 2000. Another advertisement notice came to be issued in the year 2002 for filling two more posts of Rehbar-e-Taleem in village Aragam. The petitioner applied afresh in pursuance to the advertisement notice. No selections were made on the basis of the said advertisement notice, instead panel of 2000 was operated and respondents 4 to 6 were appointed as Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers. The grievance of the petitioner is that the basic qualification for appointment as Rehbar-e-Taleem is 10+2, and the upper age limit provided is the same as in the case of Govt. service which at that time was 35 years. His contention is that the petitioner was meritorious than the private respondents on the basis of his qualification in 10+2 and was entitled to be appointed as ReT. His other contention is that respondent No. 6 was appointed as ReT when she was about 35 years of age on the date of her selection in the year 2002.

(3.) On the other hand the stand of the respondents is that the private respondents having better qualification than the petitioner as they had qualified B.A. Pal 1st at the time of their selection to which preference was given to them over the petitioner for having the qualification B.A. Part 1st in terms of the direction passed on 16.12.2002 by Director School Education. The order contemplates that in case of two persons having passed 12th class and 13th class, the one with the higher qualification was to be preferred.