- (1.) PETITIONER , in this writ application, has prayed for issuance of a direction to the Respondents to grant him promotion in the Senior Grade on the ground that the persons junior to him in the Gradation List have been granted such promotion and he has been denied the benefits of the same. Further prayer has been made for directing the Respondents to consider the petitioner's case for seniority from the date of his appointment in service as an Assistant Teacher with effect from 16.11.1972 and also to pay the arrears of pay and other allowances admissible to him for which he claims to be entitled.
(2.) COUNTER affidavit has been filed on behalf of the Respondents. Heard Mr. Pawan Kr. Choudhary, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Arbind Kr. Mehta, J. C. to S.C.I for the Respondent -State.
(3.) FACTS of the petitioner's case in brief are as follows: - The petitioner who was appointed by the order of the District Superintendent of Education, Santhal Pargana, Dumka, dated -03rd November, 1972, as an Assistant Teacher, was posted in the Girls Middle School, Borio, Sahibanj. His appointment was on Matric Untrained Scale. As per the conditions declared in the letter of appointment, he was required to get Teacher's Training. The petitioner's grievance is that though other teachers similarly situated were relieved from duty for the purpose of obtaining the training, he was left out and not relieved nor was recommended for obtaining the Training. His further case is that he cleared his Intermediate Examination in the year 1975 and thereafter obtained his Graduation in 1978. It was only after repeated representations and a legal notice issued on behalf of the petitioner, that he was relieved by the Regional Deputy Director of Education, Santhal Pargana, Dumka on 06.05.1992 whereafter he could obtain his Training from the Government Teachers Training School, Deoghar in the Session 1992 -93, the results of which were published on 16.08.1993. The further grievance of the petitioner is that a seniority list was prepared and published by the District Superintendent of Education, Sahibganj on 24.02.2005, indicating, therein that the petitioner was not considered for promotion since he was sanctioned Matric Trained Scale only on 16.10.1993 although juniors to the petitioner were granted such promotion and they got I.A. and B.A. Trained Scale. The claim of the petitioner is that though he had joined the service in the year 1972 but he was deliberately not sent for Training although his colleagues, who were junior to him, were relieved for Training. Such act on the part of the Respondents, according to the petitioner, was deliberate and discriminatory. His further contention is that his name was arbitrarily omitted in the preparation of the seniority list and in the matter of grant of promotion although such promotion was granted to the persons who were junior to him. Elaborating his claim that he has been arbitrarily discriminated, the petitioner would refer to the objections filed by him on 07.05.2005, against the Gradation List, stating that he was a B.A. Trained, having obtained his Teachers Training in 1993 and his name had appeared at Serial No. 40 in the Gradation List and further, that one Mohan Ravidas who had obtained Training in the year 1995, was wrongly placed at Serial No. 39 in the Gradation List. Upon such objections, his name was placed at Serial No. 39 of the Gradation List in the Matric Trained Teacher in the Scheduled Caste category. The petitioner's further grievance is that though several other teachers, whose date of appointment was much later than the date of the petitioner's appointment, were relieved for obtaining the Teachers Training for the Sessions 1975 -77 and later for the Sessions 1979 -80 and 1990 -91, the petitioner was not relieved for obtaining the Training. Learned counsel has mentioned the names of several such Teachers, who according to him, were granted the benefits of obtaining the Training much prior to the date when he was relieved.;