Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 – Appointment to the post of Assistant teacher in a Primary School – Eligibility of B.Ed candidates – On facts, issuance of appointment orders in favour of the B.Ed candidates by the State of Chhattisgarh, which was after the judgment in Devesh Sharma’s case wherein it was held that the candidates having B.Ed qualification were ineligible for the appointment and as such cannot be given any relief – Petitions filed by candidates holding Diploma in Elementary Education, challenging the eligibility of B.Ed. candidates – Interim order by the High Court whereby the recruitment process as regards B.Ed. candidates was directed to be kept in abeyance – Challenge to, by the B.Ed. candidates before Supreme Court – Clarificatory order by this Court that selection and appointment of B.Ed. candidates would be subject to the final decision of the High Court – Thereafter, petitions filed by the Diploma holders in Elementary Education before the High Court were allowed and service of teachers with B.Ed. Qualification terminated – Interference with:
Held: Not called for – B.Ed. qualified candidates were called by the State in the selection process, yet as they were held to be nonqualified by a judgment of this Court in Devesh Sharma’s case, which is the law now and by logic has to be implemented, they were rightly held to be disqualified – B.Ed. is not a qualification for a teacher in a Primary School – Moreover, this aspect has already been clarified in the order dated 08.04.2024, where only such candidates have been saved who were selected and appointed prior to the order dated 11.08.2023 in Devesh Sharma’s Case – Since the instant petitioners were appointed post 11.08.2023 and their appointments were also subjected to the final outcome of the pending writ petition before High Court, they cannot get any benefit – Date of appointment which is certainly after the cutoff date, is important – They will stand disqualified, as they do not have the essential qualification for appointment as primary school teachers – Furthermore, r. 8(II) of the 2019 Rules placing B.Ed. as a qualification is again subsequent to the Notification of NCTE, which has already been quashed and set aside by the judgment in Devesh Sharma’s case – Thus, by implication, qualification given in the Chhattisgarh Rules to the extent it makes B.Ed. a qualification also cannot be implemented, following the law laid down in Devesh Sharma’s case – Also, order of NCTE whereby the judgment in Devesh Sharma’s case was communicated to Chief Secretaries of all State Governments for further appropriate action has been shown to the Court – In spite of this, appointments were given to B.Ed. candidates which was illegal and has rightly been quashed by the High Court – Chhattisgarh School Education Services (Educational and Administrative Cadre) Recruitment and Promotion Rules, 2019. [Paras 10-13]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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