Calcutta High Court
Manju Pandey And Anr vs The State Of West Bengal And Ors on 25 January, 2024
OD-13
ORDER SHEET
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction
ORIGINAL SIDE
WPO/163/2021
MANJU PANDEY AND ANR
VS
THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS
BEFORE:
The Hon'ble JUSTICE RAI CHATTOPADHYAY
Date: 25th January, 2024.
Appearance :
Mr. Anjan Bhattacharya, Adv.
Ms. Anita Shaw, Adv.
For the Petitioners
The Court: The two writ petitioners have challenged the order of
the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary Education), Kolkata/respondent
No.3, dated 10/03/2021.
The brief fact as required to be mentioned here as regards the
present case is that the petitioners have been working as Assistant Teachers
and engaged in Balika Siksha Sadan, Kolkata, with effect from 12/12/2005
and 24/07/2007, respectively. Their services have been confirmed by the
Managing Committee of the said school. Though however, the same have not
been approved by the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary Education),
Kolkata/respondent No.3. The writ petitioners case is that, they having been
appointed for a sufficient period of time and qualified adequately, have
prayed for their approval but disallowed. Three of them viz. the present two
writ petitioners and another, namely, Smt. Rekha Agarwal together had
applied for approval before the respondent No.3/authority. Their prayers
were considered and rejected vide one common order, that is, the impugned
order dated 10.03.2021, by the respondent No.3.
All the three incumbents had preferred writ petitions before this
Court, one of the same being the present one. Smt. Rekha Agarwal had
preferred separate writ petition being WPO/205/2021.
Mr. Bhattacharya, learned Advocate, who is appearing for the writ
petitioners, has handed over a copy of the judgment dated 08/08/2023, of a
co-ordinate Bench of this Court, passed in the matter of said Smt. Rekha
Agarwal (WPO/205/2021) and submits that the issues involved in the
present case, as were also involved in the other writ petition being
WPO/205/2021, have been dealt with by the co-ordinate Bench. Hence, the
similar issues are now finally settled. He further submits that an order of
the Principal Secretary of the School Education Department/respondent
No.1 dated 5.10.2023 has already been issued in compliance with the order
in WPO/205/2021 and the writ petitioner there, who is similarly placed as
the present petitioners, has been granted the benefit of approval by the said
respondent, in terms of the High Court's order as mentioned above. Copy of
the said order dated 05/10/2023, has also been submitted in Court. Mr.
Bhattacharya has emphasized that the present writ petition may also be
disposed of in terms of the directions made by the co-ordinate Bench in
WPO/205/2021.
Since it appears that the present two writ petitioners had moved
before the authorities for approval along with the writ petitioner in
WPO/205/2021 and had been subjected to similar fate of rejection of their
prayer vide the impugned order which applied to all three of them, the
issues involved in the present writ petition would be similar as to those, as
were involved in WPO/205/2021, preferred by the other person, namely,
Rekha Agarwal. On perusal of the particular facts of the case, that the
present petitioners were appointed as temporary teachers and were
subsequently confirmed against the sanctioned vacancy, in terms of a
government notification, there appears to be no scope for any doubt, that
the present petitioners are similarly circumstanced, with the writ petitioner,
in WPO/205/2021 and no differential treatment can be meted out to them.
Accordingly, there would not be any harm in disposing of this writ petition
in terms of the directions passed by the co-ordinate Bench in
WPO/205/2021 vide the judgment dated 08.08.2023.
No one is appearing in this case, for the respondents. Hence, the
submissions made on behalf of the writ petitioners remain uncontroverted.
On the discussions as above, the impugned order dated
10/03/2021, by the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary Education),
Kolkata, is hereby set aside.
The Secretary, School Education Department, Government of West
Bengal is directed to consider the case of the petitioners for approval of
appointment, in the light of the judgment rendered in WPO/205/2021 and
its own order dated 05/10/2023, as mentioned above.
Needless to say, in that event, the said respondent shall provide
opportunity of hearing to the writ petitioners and pass a reasoned and
speaking order within the purview of observations made here. The entire
exercise as above shall be completed by the said respondent, within a period
of four weeks from the date of communication of copy of this order.
The Copy of the judgment in WPO/205/2021 and order of
respondent No.1 dated 05/10/2023 be kept with the record.
The writ petition is disposed of.
(RAI CHATTOPADHYAY, J.)
S.De
