Tarak Chandra Das vs State Of West Bengal & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 1271 Cal

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              IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

                (Civil Appellate Jurisdiction)

                      APPELLATE SIDE

Present:

The Hon'ble Justice Subrata Talukdar

And

The Hon'ble Justice Supratim Bhattacharya



                     FMA 3278 of 2015

                            With

                    IA No.CAN 1 of 2015

                 (Old No.. CAN 6553 of 2015)

                            With

                    IA No. CAN 2 of 2015

                (Old No. CAN 12094 of 2015)

                            With

                    IA No. CAN 3 of 2020

                     Tarak Chandra Das

                            -Vs-

                 State of West Bengal & Ors.

                         (Assigned)
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For the Appellant         : Mr. Santi Ranjan Das
                            Mr. Kshetra Prasad Mukhopadhyay
                            Mr. Sayantan Rakshit


For the State             : Mr. Supriyo Chattopadhyay
                              Mr. Suman Dey


Heard On                  : 09.11.2022

Judgement Delivered On    : 20.02.2023




Supratim Bhattacharya, J.:- The instant appeal has been

preferred against the Order and Judgment passed by the

Hon'ble Single Bench on 09.06.2015 in writ petition no. WP

28115 (W) of 2012.

     By the impugned Judgment and Order the Hon'ble Single

Bench was pleased to dismiss the said writ petition praying for

granting an order regularizing the writ petitioner to the post of a

teacher in a primary school under the District Primary School

Council, North-24-Parganas.
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     The facts of the present case are that one Tarak Chandra Das

claiming himself to be an Organizing Teacher of a school being

appointed by the Chairman of the local Municipality as per the

decision of the people of the locality, is seeking to have himself

regularized.


     The Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant/

writ petitioner has submitted that the said writ petitioner is an

Organizing Teacher being appointed by the Chairman of the local

Municipality on being recommended by the people of the locality.

He has further submitted that the appellant/writ petitioner has not

yet been regularized and prays for regularizing him to the post of a

teacher. He has further submitted that the Hon'ble Apex Court had

directed the Reviewing Committee to regularize the Organizing

Teachers who have not yet been regularized and who are eligible for

being regularized after scrutinizing their testimonials.


     The Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the State

respondents has submitted that the petitioner relied on the

Government Notification No.539-SE (Primary) dated 04.08.1997 and

claimed his appointment as a Primary School Teacher under old

Rule 3D (vide Notification No. 975 dated 26.10.1971). It has further

been submitted that the said Notification No.539-SE (Primary)

dated 04.08.1997 specifically states that in cases where schools

had been recognized prior to coming into force of new Rule 3D, that

is before the date of the relevant Notification being No. 713-ED (P)

dated 11.09.1980, the Organizer Teachers who had been working in

those schools and were eligible for appointment as per provisions of

old Rule 3D may submit application to the respective Primary

School Councils who will consider their cases. He has further

submitted that the appellant/writ petitioner in his affidavit affirmed

on 19.05.2022 has mentioned his age to be 58 years. So at the

relevant point of time, that is during the year 1980, the said

appellant writ petitioner was 16 years old, which is quite

astonishing.

The Learned Counsel has further submitted that the writ

petitioner has submitted that he was appointed as per decision of

the people of the locality which is also not at all acceptable. He has

also submitted that the Hon'ble Single Bench by the impugned

Order has expressed surprise about the fact that the people of the

locality started recommending somebody for being appointed as a

Primary Teacher and there is no such case or rule by which the writ

petitioner's service could be regularized. Relying on such

submissions Learned Counsel has assailed the impugned order.

From the contentions of the parties it reveals that the

appellant has come with the plea that he is an Organizing Teacher

of a school being appointed by the Chairman of the local

municipality and the people of the locality took the decision as

regards his appointment. The said appellant has prayed for

regularizing him as teacher being an Organizing Teacher. It is

confusing to note that the people of the locality took the decision as

regards to the appointment of the appellant/ petitioner which raises

doubt in the mind of this Court too, on the basis of which the

Hon'ble Single Bench also rejected the prayer of the writ petitioner.

As regards to regularizing the Organizing Teachers in the post

of primary teachers the Hon'ble Apex Court has passed several

Orders among which the orders dated 16.04.2015, 28.01.2016 and

06.10.2016 can be referred to for the purpose of this discussion.

The Order passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court dated 28.01.2016

reads as follows:-

"The case has peculiar facts and circumstances.

In pursuance of order dated 2nd December 2015, the

verification committee has verified the details with regard to 1257

organizing teachers and has come to its final conclusion that out

of 1257, 203 organizing teachers, who were parties in the petition

filed before the Calcultta High Court, are below the age of 60

years as on today and they are also qualified to become teachers

as per rules which were in force as on 14th September 1995.

Names of those 203 organizing teachers have been given in the

list at Annezure R-6 to the report of the verification committee

constituted in terms of the order dated 2nd December 2015. The

report has been handed over to us in Court today which is taken

on record.

The said organizing teachers shall submit relevant

documents concerning their age and their qualification, to the

verification committee within 4 weeks from today and after

verification thereof in presence of the concerned Organizing

Teachers, the Verification Committee shall come to a final

conclusion with regard to veracity of the certificates and thereafter

shall recommend the names of the qualifying Organized Teachers

to the State within four weeks thereafter. Upon receipt of the said

list, the State shall give appointment to the persons recommended

by the verification committee within 4 weeks from the date of

receipt of the list.

It has been submitted by the Learned Counsel appearing for

some of the Organizing Teachers who are not within the list of

afore-stated 203 persons that they are also eligible for

appointment but because of some mistake their names have not

been included in the list.

If it is so it would be open to them to approach the

verification Committee on or before 29th February, 2016, so as to

show that they are duly qualified as other Organizing Teachers as

per rules in force as on 14th September, 1995 and they are below

the age of 60 years as on today. We are sure that as and when

such an application is made the Verification Committee will look

into their grievance and take appropriate action as soon as

possible, preferably within six weeks thereafter.

So far as other 5616 Organizing Teachers (as per the list

furnished by Mr. Amarjit Singh Bedi, the Learned Counsel), who

claimed to be parties before the High Court in writ petition No.

15632 of 1998, are concerned, it has been submitted that all

relevant details with regard to their qualification and age, details

of which are to be examined by the Verification Committee, have

already been given to the Learned Counsel appearing for the

respondent- State. The verification details shall be put in a tabular

form as per order dated 2nd December, 2015............ "

The Order passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court dated 16.04.2015

reads as follows:-

"The applicants shall give the following details along with an

affidavit with regard to the organizer teachers who claimed right to

be appointed as primary teacher in pursuance of order passed by

this Court dated 2nd February 2011 in SLP (C) No. 15253 of 2006

and connected matter.

1. The name and address of the organizer teacher and the date on

which he became the member of the association concerned before

the High Court.

2. Number of the petition wherein association was the petitioner.

3. Date of birth of the teacher concerned.

4. The school in which he worked as an organizer teacher and the

period of work.

5. The evidence to show that the said teacher had become member of

the association before the petition was filed in the High Court.

The afore-stated details shall be furnished by the Learned Counsel

for the applicant to the Learned Counsel appearing for the State of

West Bengal Board of Primary Education within two weeks from

today.

The information provided by the Learned Counsel for the applicant

shall be verified by respondent- Board and they shall file its

response within two weeks thereafter.........."

The Order passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court dated 06.10.2016

reads as follows:-

"We have heard the Learned Counsel for the parties at length.

Upon hearing the concerned counsel and upon perusal of the

relevant records and the orders passed by this Court from time to

time we had passed the following order on 28th January 2016...

'In pursuance of order dated 2nd December 2015 the

verification Committee has verified the details with regard to 1257

Organizing Teachers and has come to its final conclusion that out

of 1257, 203 Organizing Teachers who were parties in the petition

filed before the Calcutta High Court are below the age of 60 years

as on today and they are also qualified to become teachers as per

rules which were in force as on 14th September, 1995. Names of

those 203 Organizing Teachers have been given in the list at

Annexure R-6 to the report of the Verification Committee' .............

We direct that the 173 candidates, as referred to in our

order dated 28.01.2016 passed in I.A. numbers 2 and 3 of 2015

in I.A. number 13/2013 in SLP (C) No. 15253/2006 shall be

appointed as Primary Teachers with effect from 01.10.2016 and

their appointment letters shall be given to them before 31st October

2016.

The Order passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court dated 03.05.2018

reads as follows:-

"........ 7. It is the case of the appellants that despite the

direction issued by this Court no verification whatsoever has been

conducted in their cases. However, it is the stand of the Board

and the State that no information whatsoever had been furnished

so as to enable the committee to verify the records.

Having heard the Learned Counsel appearing for the

appellants and the Learned Counsel appearing for the Board and

the State of the West Bengal, we are of the view that there is no

point in continuing the litigations before this Court. The only

dispute is with regard to verification. In view of the serious

dispute on verification, we are of the view that the remaining

grievance regarding verification should be independently looked

into by an appropriate authority. We direct the Secretary to the

West Bengal State Legal Services Authority to verify the remaining

grievance herein and the intervenors/ impleading applicants as

on 25.04.2018.it will be open to him to adopt any method for

verification.

The Secretary to the West Bengal State Legal Services

Authority after notice to the West Bengal Board of Primary

Education, will complete the verification process in respect of the

appellants and the intervenors/impleading applicants before this

Court as on 25.04.2018 and submit a report to the Government,

Education Department.

This process shall be completed within four months from

today. The Secretary to the Government will take the required

action for appointment, if any within another one month.

No Court shall entertain any further challenge on the report

thus submitted to the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority

and there shall be no further dispute in this regard. The Secretary

is also directed to not to entertain any fresh applications or fresh

record......"

Having heard the parties and considering the materials placed,

this Court notices the following.

That it is clear from the record that the writ petition being WP

No. 28115 (W) of 2012 was dismissed by the Hon'ble Single Bench

on the 9th of June, 2015 without at the relevant point of time being

in a position to appreciate the effect of the orders passed by the

Hon'ble Apex Court on the 28th of January, 2016, 16th of April, 2016

and the 6th of October, 2016. It is pertinent to further notice that

the primary issue in both the writ petitions as decided by the

Hon'ble Single Bench and the pronouncements of the Hon'ble

Supreme Court (supra) relate to the Organizing Teachers.

While this Court is not in a position to appreciate whether the

Organizing Teachers who were before the Hon'ble Apex Court and

the present appellant are identically circumstanced, it falls to

reason that at the same time the present appellant is entitled to

claim the benefit of the verification process as initiated and laid

down by the three orders of the Hon'ble Apex Court (supra).

In the above conspectus of facts and the legal pronouncements

applicable to such facts, this Court, notwithstanding the orders

passed by the Hon'ble Single Bench, permits the present

appellant/the writ petitioner to approach the appropriate Court

seeking a parity of treatment.

The above view of this Court stands fortified by the clear

decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court vide its order dated 6th of

October, 2016 (supra) to the effect that no Court shall entertain any

further challenge to the report submitted by the West Bengal State

Legal Services Authority and there shall be no further dispute in

this regard. This Court is also mindful of the direction upon the

Secretary, West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, not to

entertain any fresh applications and fresh records.

Last but not the least, the Orders of the Hon'ble Apex Court

dated 28th January, 2016, 16th of April, 2016 and 6th of October,

2016 are subsequent to the decision of the Hon'ble Single Bench

dated 9th of June, 2015 (supra) as impugned in this appeal. In the

above view of the matter this Court is of the view that the

appellant/the writ petitioner deserves an opportunity to ventilate

his claim before the appropriate Court notwithstanding the order of

dismissal passed by the Hon'ble Single Bench.

FMA 3278 of 2015 with IA No.CAN 1 of 2015 (Old No. CAN

6553 of 2015) with IA No. CAN 2 of 2015 (Old No. CAN 12094 of

2015) with IA No. CAN 3 of 2020 stand accordingly disposed of.

Parties shall be entitled to act on the basis of the server copy of the judgment and order placed on the official website of the Court.

Urgent Xerox certified photo copies of this judgment, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of the requisite formalities.

I Agree.

(Subrata Talukdar, J.) (Supratim Bhattacharya, J.)