Amareshwar Sahay, J. - (1.) HEARD the parties.
(2.) THE points to be decided in the present appeal are as under: (I) Whether the impugned order passed by the Jharkhand Education Tribunal rejecting the application filed by the present appellant as time barred, is legal and valid? (II) Whether the Jharkhand Education Tribunal had the jurisdiction to entertain the application of the appellant for redressal of his grievance? In order to go into the above two questions, relevant undisputed facts of the case are necessary to be noticed which are as under: The appellant Shailendra Kumar Jha was employed as a Clerk in Parmar Vidyawati Surjeet Singh D.A.V. Public School, Bye -Pass Road, Jhumri Tilaiya. In the year 1993, a criminal case was lodged against him for the alleged commission of the offences under Section 408, 468, 477A and 379 of the Indian Penal Code alleging therein that he misappropriated the money received from the students as Fee. During the pendency of the Criminal case, he was not allowed to work. He was however acquitted by the Trial Court giving him the benefits of doubt by Judgment dated 21.08.2006. Thereafter, the appellant Shailendra Kumar Jha, represented the Management of the School to allow him to join his service but when he found that no action was being taken then he sent a Notice to the Management by registered post through his Lawyer on 05.11.2007 calling upon them to allow him to resume work in the school.
(3.) WHEN the appellant did not receive any response to his Notice, he filed an application before the Jharkhand Education Tribunal on 19.03.2008 under Section 8 of the Jharkhand Education Tribunal Act, 2005 praying therein for direction to the Management to allow him to join the School. The respondents/ School appeared before the Tribunal filed their Counter Affidavit. They also filed a separate petition challenging the maintainability of the case filed by the employee on the ground that the application filed by the employee was hopelessly barred by limitation and accordingly, prayed that the said issue of limitation may be decided firstly as a preliminary issue.;