Allahabad High Court
Chandra Prakash Verma vs State Of U.P. And 5 Others on 24 March, 2023
Bench: Ajit Kumar
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Court No. - 34
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 5055 of 2023
Petitioner :- Chandra Prakash Verma
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others
Counsel for Petitioner :- Shiv Bahadur Singh
Counsel for Respondent :- CSC,Surendra Kumar Tripathi
Hon'ble Ajit Kumar,J.
Heard Dr. Shiv Bahadur Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Surendra Kumar Tripathi, learned counsel for the respondent no.6 and learned Standing Counsel for respondent nos.1 to 4.
The petitioner before this Court has questioned the order passed by the District Inspector of Schools dated 14.2.2023 whereby he has approved the resolution passed by the Committee of Management dated 28.5.2022 permitted Sri Kamlesh Kumar Niranjan-respondent no.6 to function as officiating Principal of the institution till the regular selected Principal comes and joins.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of this Court towards the seniority list as appended in the writ petition and submits that petition is the senior most Lecturer in the institution and is entitled to officiate as Principal of the institution. He further submits that in this regard he has also represented the matter to the District Inspector of Schools questioning the decision taken by the Committee of Management to permit the respondent no.6 to function as officiating Principal of the institution. However, his objection has not been considered and the District Inspector of Schools has proceeded to approve the resolution of the Committee of Management and attested the signatures of the respondent no.6 as officiating Principal of the institution by the order impugned.
Per contra, it is argued by Sri Tripathi, learned counsel for the respondent no.6 as well as learned Standing Counsel for the State that the petitioner does not possess minimum qualification which is required for a Lecturer to be appointed as Principal of the institution. They further submit that the petitioner is having Post Graduate degree in English with IIIrd division and there is no certificate of training to his credit as required vide Appendix A of Chapter 2 of the Intermediate Education Act, 1921. It is further submitted that the exemption from the training certificate is available to a Lecturer provide he completes 10 years of service having Post Graduate degree in Ist or IInd division and 15 years of service n the event the Post Graduate degree is in IIIrd division. They submit that there is a series of judgment to the effect that Lecturer is not entitled to officiate as Principal of the institution, if he does not possess a requisite qualification. In support of the above argument they have placed reliance upon the judgment of the Allahabad High Court in the case of Shamsul Zama vs. District Inspector of Schools, Chandauli and others reported in 2001 (3) ESC 1138 (All).
On a pointed query being made, learned counsel for the petitioner could not dispute that he has a post graduate degree in IIIrd division and he has not put in more than 11 years of service as Lecturer of the institution.
In the circumstances, therefore the petitioner is held ineligible to be appointed as Principal of the institution on the date the vacancy in question had occurred nor even today and hence, he also cannot function as officiating Principal of the institution.
I do not find therefore any fault with the order of the District Inspector of Schools Even on question of opportunity of hearing, if a matter is remitted, the result is bound to be same in view of what has been discussed above.
Thus, petition lacks merit and is dismissed. Consigned to record.
Order Date :- 24.3.2023
Deepika
