HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6454/2013 Mahendra Kumar Sharma S/o Shri Bhanwar Lal Sharma, aged about 40 years, by caste Brahmin, R/o Village Akeli, Tehsil Merta City, District Nagaur.
----Petitioner Versus
1. State of Rajasthan, through the Secretary, Secretariat, Sanskrit Education, Rajasthan, Jaipur.
2. Director, Sanskrit Education, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur.
3. Joint Director, Sanskrit Education, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur.
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Anil Vyas
For Respondent(s) : Mr. A.K. Gaur, AAG
Mr. Anupam Gopal Vyas
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KULDEEP MATHUR
Judgment
06/01/2023
By way of filing present writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:-
"It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed on behalf of petitioner that the writ petition may kindly be allowed and:- I. by an appropriate writ, order or direction, the respondents may kindly be directed to hold DPC for the petitioner and assigned him the seniority other juniors have been promoted II. by an appropriate writ, order or direction it may be declared that person having graduation in Sanskrit is eligible for promotion to the post of Teacher Grade-II and the petitioner may be declared so on the basis of his qualification of BA, MA, B.ED and Acharaya Part-II;
III. That the Order dt. 10.10.2011 Ex.11 may kindly be quashed and set aside with all consequential relief;(Downloaded on 11/01/2023 at 09:17:00 PM)
(2 of 4) [CW-6454/2013] IV. Any other appropriate order or direction, which this Hon'ble Court considers just and proper in the facts and circumstances of this case, may kindly be passed in favour of the petitioner.
V. Costs of the writ petition may kindly be awarded to the petitioner."
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that a number of similarly situated employees approached Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal (for short 'Tribunal') claiming identical relief.
The Tribunal by a detailed order dated 08.11.2013 ordered that since the appellants before it possessed the requisite qualifications for promotion on Teacher Grade-II (Sanskrit), their candidature may be considered for promotion and if they are found eligible, they may be promoted from the date juniors were promoted with all consequential benefits.
Against the order dated 08.11.2013, respondent-State of Rajasthan preferred writ petitions before co-ordinate Bench of this Court challenging the order of Tribunal. The co-ordinate Bench vide judgment dated 25.08.2015 allowed the writ petitions and set aside the order dated 08.11.2013 passed by the Tribunal.
Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment dated 25.08.2015 passed by the co-ordinate Bench of this Court, special appeals were preferred before Division Bench. The Division Bench at Jaipur vide judgment dated 26.10.2018 allowed a batch of special appeals led by D.B. S.A.W. No.986/2015 (Bhuwneshwar Pd. Trivedi vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors.). The operative portion of Bhuwneshwar Pd. Trivedi (supra) reads as under:-
"What is of significance in the present case to note is that the amended rules, which came into force on 10.06.2008 on the basis of which the appellants are being considered as not eligible for promotion provided qualification of Shastri (Downloaded on 11/01/2023 at 09:17:00 PM) (3 of 4) [CW-6454/2013] (Sanskrit) or equivalent traditional Sanskrit examination with Sanskrit medium from a University established by Law in India and Shiksha Shastri/Degree in Education recognized by the Government as the eligibility qualification for direct recruitment, which qualification was also adopted for promotion. However, order of promotion of the juniors to the appellants were issued on 01.05.2008, which implies that meeting of Departmental Promotion Committee to consider their candidature for promotion was convened much prior to amendment in the Rules. In any case, the Departmental Promotion Committee and the respondents-State authorities were required to make promotions as per the unamended rules, which did not insist on the qualification of Shastri (Sanskrit) or equivalent traditional Sanskrit examination with Sanskrit medium from a University established by Law in India. The respondents therefore cannot be allowed to argue that amended provisions would apply even to the vacancies of the previous years as the case of the eligible candidates for promotion was considered much before amendment in the rules, as per the unamended rules. Learned Single Judge, in our considered view, was therefore not justified in applying the ratio of the judgment of this Court in Pawan Kumar Jain & Another (supra), ignoring the ratio of the judgment of this Court in the State of Rajasthan & Others Vs. Jeta Ram Khawa & Others (supra). Reliance on the Single Bench judgment of this Court in Garima Mani Sharma (supra) also therefore could not be of any help because even that judgment was based on the judgment in Pawan Kumar Jain & Another (supra) as the issue involved in that case was the same being dispute with regard to appointment on the post of Teacher Grade-II in the subject of Sanskrit by way of direct recruitment.
In view of above discussion, present appeals deserve to succeed and the same are hereby allowed. Impugned judgment dated 25.08.2015 passed by the learned Single Judge is set aside and the judgment dated 08.11.2013 passed by the Tribunal is restored. The appellants are held entitled to all the consequential benefits. Compliance of the judgment of the Tribunal shall now be made by the (Downloaded on 11/01/2023 at 09:17:00 PM) (4 of 4) [CW-6454/2013] respondents within a period of three months from the date copy of this judgment is produced before them.
All the pending applications are disposed of. Office is directed to place a copy of this judgment on record of each connected appeal."
Learned counsel for the petitioner prayed that since the controversy involved in the present writ petition is similar to the one decided by Division Bench at Jaipur in the case of Bhuwneshwar Pd. Trivedi (supra), the petitioner may be granted the same relief.
Learned counsel for the respondents was not in a position to controvert the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the petitioner.
In view of aforesaid, the present writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to grant promotion to the petitioner on the post of Teacher Grade-II from the date persons junior to him were promoted pursuant to recommendations of the DPC with all consequential benefits. The respondents are directed to do the needful within a period of three months from the date copy of this order/judgment is produced before them.
No order as to costs.
(KULDEEP MATHUR),J 21-Ravi Kh/-
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