Rongon Mukhopadhyay, J. - (1.) IN this writ application, the petitioner has sought for a direction from this Court to recognize his services on the post of Assistant Teacher in Project Girls High School, Pratappur, P.O. P.S. -Pratappur, District -Chatra in the light of the judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Full Bench of the Patna High Court in Project Uchcha Vidyalaya Shikshak Sangh Vs. State as also in view of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the State of Bihar & Ors. Vs. Project Uchcha Vidyalaya Shikshak Sangh & Ors, reported in, 2006 (2) JLJR 56(SC).
(2.) THE facts which arise from the averments made in the writ application are that in order to eradicate the educational backwardness from the society, the State Government had taken a decision to establish four high schools in each block of the State, out of which, one must be a girls high school. The State Government decided to introduce and regulate the said scheme, popularly known as Project Scheme, firstly in Chhotanagpur and Santhal Pargana Division. The scheme was notified by the State Government vide Government letter No. 1115 dated 27.05.1981. Following the policy decision, the State Government in the financial year 1981 -82 selected 150 high schools in different blocks of the State and most of the schools were running with public assistance. However, due to paucity of fund, no school was selected in the financial year 1982 -83 and 1983 -84 but in the financial year 1984 -85, the State Government decided and selected 300 blocks to select or establish at least one girls high school in each of the said blocks in terms of letter No. 12(C) dated 25.01.1985. The State Government vide letter No. 108 dated 12.02.1985 selected 75 girls high schools in 75 blocks out of 300 selected blocks but since difficulties arose in selection of the school, as such a letter was issued by the Education Department bearing letter No. 142 dated 23.02.1985 constituting a three men committee in each district selected by the concerned District Magistrate with a direction to select the schools in their respective districts. The local people of Pratappur block and its adjoining areas in order to facilitate the education of girls established a girls high school, which was also selected as one of the Project Schools by the three men committee constituted in the district of Hazaribagh. The Managing Committee of the Project Girls High School, Pratappur started making the process of appointment, to which the petitioner had applied and was selected as a Science Teacher and letter of appointment was also duly issued by the Secretary of the Managing Committee of the school on 10.01.1985, pursuant to which the petitioner joined in his post on 14.01.1985. The State Government issued an order vide letter No. 142 dated 4.2.1989 providing payment of salary to teaching and non teaching staffs with effect from 1.1.1989, whose appointments have been made prior to selection of the school and certain conditions were stipulated in the said letter dated 4.2.1989. Several writ applications were preferred before the Hon'ble Patna High Court by teaching and non teaching staffs of the project schools for recognition of their services and for payment of salary. The validity of the letter No. 142 dated 4.2.1989 was also challenged but the same being dismissed, an appeal was preferred before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which remitted the matter back to the Hon'ble Patna High Court for constituting a Full Bench and deciding all the issues relating to the Project Schools. Full Bench passed an order on 7.12.1999. The State of Bihar went in appeal in Civil Appeal No. 6626 -6681/2001 before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in which specific direction was given that the committee shall also deal with all such individual cases of the appellants in terms of the direction at para 35 in the judgment of the Hon'ble Patna High Court.
(3.) MR . Sanjay Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for the petitioner, has submitted that the petitioner was selected by the Managing Committee of the School and the letter of appointment was issued on 10.01.1985. It has been submitted that at the time of appointment, the qualification of the petitioner was B.Sc. and he had completed the training course of diploma in Physical Education in session 1982 -83 but the examination was held in 1989 and the result was published in 1989 itself. It has further been submitted that the petitioner has passed his B.Ed Examination from Meerut University in 1990 itself. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submits that admittedly the petitioner was appointed prior to selection of the Project Girls High School, Pratappur by the State Government. Learned counsel further adds that the Hon'ble Full Bench in the case of Project Uchcha Vidyalaya Sikshak Sangh had clearly held at paragraph 33 of the judgement that the cut off date for possessing the minimum qualification shall be the date on which the reports were submitted by the screening committee. Learned counsel while continuing with his argument has submitted that the petitioner had obtained necessary qualification much prior to the report of the screening committee but the screening committee in its report has not considered the fact that the petitioner had obtained his B.Ed degree in 1990 itself while rejecting the claim of the petitioner for recognition of his services. Learned counsel for the petitioner has further relied upon an order passed by this Court in WPS No. 5161 of 2009 and WPS No. 1447 of 2013.;