- (1.) The petitioner in this writ application has prayed for an order for quashing the Memo No. 200/Ranchi dated 04.02.2005 (Annexure-1) issued by the Respondent No. 2, by which petitioner's claim for treating him as permanent Headmaster of Raghunath Shahi Project High School, Govindpur in the district of Deoghar, has been rejected. A further prayer has been made for issuance of an appropriate direction to the Respondents to treat the petitioner as regular Headmaster of the School from the date of taking over of the School by the State Government under the Project Scheme and further to pay all consequential benefits meant for the post of Headmaster accordingly.
(2.) The facts of the case in brief are as follows: The Raghunath Shahi Project High School, Govindpur in the district of Deoghar was established by the permission of the Bihar Secondary Education Board as a private School in the year 1978, under the Managing Committee, which was constituted for administration and for appointment of staffs to start the School. The petitioner was appointed by the Managing Committee of the School on 18.01.1978 as the first teacher. Later, the Managing Committee appointed the petitioner on the post of Headmaster of the School on 19.07.1978. Under the policy decision of the State Government taken on 27.05.1981 a scheme under the name of Project Scheme was floated. The petitioner's School was taken over by the State Government under Project Scheme on 15.03.1982 under the Bihar Non- Governmental Schools Secondary (Management and Control) Act, 1981. After the school having acquired status of Government School, the petitioner continued to work as an acting Headmaster of the School and he used to receive his salary though the salary for the post of Headmaster was not paid to him. Claiming that he is entitled for the salary meant for the post of Headmaster w.e.f. the date of taking over of the School on 01.01.1982, the petitioner filed a representation before the concerned authorities of the Department of Secondary Education for his regularization on the post of Headmaster of the School. When the petitioner's representations did not yield any result, he filed a writ application vide C.W.J.C. No. 7638 of 1991. The writ application was disposed of on 02.09.1992 by this Court with a direction to the Respondents to consider the petitioner's case and pay him his salary. When despite the orders, the Respondents did not take any action, the petitioner filed a Contempt Application before this Court against the Respondents for non-compliance of the order dated 02.09.1992 passed in aforesaid C.W.J.C. No. 7638 of 1991. The Contempt application vide M.J.C. No. 330 of 1993 was disposed of on 02.02.1995 with a direction to the Director, Secondary Education to obtain all the relevant papers from the petitioner by 20.02.1995 and to decide the matter by passing a speaking and reasoned order within two months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. The petitioner again approached the concerned Respondents with a copy of the order passed in Contempt Petition by this Court. The petitioner had explained in his representation that the rules relating to the Secondary Schools Teachers in the State of Bihar which was known as Bihar Nationalized School (Service Condition) Rules, 1983 was adopted in respect of Project Schools Teachers also and notification to this effect has been issued by the State Government vide Notification No. 300 dated 01.06.1999. After bifurcation of the State of Bihar, the school came within the territorial jurisdiction of State of Jharkhand. After the creation of the State of Jharkhand, the Bihar Nationalized School (Service Condition) Rules, 1983 was adopted also by the State of Jharkhand and was made applicable to the teachers of Government Schools and to the Project Teachers also. The petitioner had also enclosed the recommendations made by the District Education Officer, Deoghar vide letter dated 24.01.2002 to promote the petitioner to the post of permanent Headmaster of the School. In support of his claim the petitioner had also annexed a copy of the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of A.K. Pradhan and also in the case of Susheela Devi by way of citing instances that other teachers under similar circumstances who had been continuously working for more than seven years as Headmaster in their respective Schools, were regularized in the post of Headmaster. When despite such representation, no order was passed by the Respondents authorities, the petitioner again filed a writ application vide W.P.(S) No. 4097 of 2004. By order dated 30.08.2004, this Court disposed of the writ application with a direction that the petitioner shall file a representation alongwith a copy of the High Court's order with a corresponding direction to the Director, Secondary Education to consider the petitioner's grievance and pass an appropriate order. The petitioner filed his representation in accordance with the directions of the High Court as contained in the aforesaid order. However, by the impugned order dated 04.02.2005, the respondent No. 2 rejected the petitioner's claim. Being aggrieved with the rejection of his claim, the petitioner has filed the instant writ application.
(3.) Sri Bijay Kumar Pandey, learned Counsel for the petitioner would explain that even on the basis of the undisputed facts, the petitioner who was initially appointed by the Managing Committee of the School as a Headmaster of the School in 1978, had continued to function as the in-charge Headmaster of the School even after taking over of the School by the State Government. Relying upon the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of A.K. Pradhan v. State of Bihar and Ors.,1998 (1) PLJR(SC) 2, learned Counsel argues that even after taking over of the School by the State Government on 01.01.1982, the petitioner had continued to work as In-charge Headmaster of the School and as the senior most teacher of the school had gained more than seven years of teaching experience besides possessing a B.Ed degree. The petitioner was, therefore, entitled to be considered for appointment as the Headmaster of the School.;