JUDGMENT

Altamas Kabir, J.—Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.

2. The private respondents in all these special leave petitions had filed several writ petitions in the Bombay High Court questioning the decision of the authorities to treat them as Untrained Teachers although they were all graduate teachers having B.Ed. qualification and approval having been granted for their appointment as trained teachers. According to the said respondents, they had all been appointed as Assistant Teachers in Primary Schools which conducted classes up to the 7th standard, from about the year 1988 onwards. It is only after a decision was taken to treat them as untrained teachers, despite being fully trained and qualified, that they were compelled to move the several writ petitions which were all allowed by a common judgment of the Bombay High Court dated 6th May, 2004.

3. The case of the writ petitioners before the Bombay High Court was that they were all graduate teachers having B.Ed. qualification and that they had been appointed to teach in Primary Schools conducting classes up to the 7th standard. In most of the cases, approval was granted for their appointment as Trained Teachers. Subsequently, however, in 2001, they were all informed on different dates that they would be treated as untrained teachers and would be paid their salaries accordingly. According to the writ petitioners, in terms of Government Resolution dated 26th October, 1982, they were entitled to be appointed and continued as Trained Teachers in the B.Ed. scale. The respondents in the several writ petitions, who are the appellants before us, had contended before the High Court that B.Ed. qualification was not sufficient for being treated as Trained Teacher in the Primary Schools and that what was required was a D.Ed. qualification. It was contended that before joining the school, the teacher concerned was required to hold the qualification of S.S.C. and D.Ed. and that the teacher was also required to acquire a graduation degree while in service along with a B.Ed. degree.

4. Relying on a Division Bench decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of Kondiba vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors., referred to in paragraph 3 of the impugned judgment of the High Court, the Bombay High Court allowed all the writ applications and set aside all the impugned orders upon holding that teachers who possess B.A./B.Sc. and B.Ed. qualification are duly qualified and are eligible to continue to receive their salaries as Trained Teachers from the date on which they were appointed along with all consequential benefits and were also entitled to be paid the difference and any other consequential benefits within the period stipulated.

5. The State of Maharashtra is in appeal before us against the aforesaid decision of the Bombay High Court. Appearing for the appellants, Mr. S.K. Dholakia, learned senior counsel, submitted that in the State of Maharashtra classes from 5th to 7th standard are attached either with primary schools or with secondary schools. He submitted that the provisions of the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools Rules, 1981 provides for the qualification of teachers for appointment to primary schools. Rule 6 provides that the minimum qualifications for the posts of teachers and the non-teaching staff in the primary schools are those specified in Schedule “B” which reads as follows:-

”Qualifications for Primary Teachers” —(1) Appointment to the posts of Primary school teachers (other than special teachers Drawing teachers) shall be made by nomination from amongst candidates who have passed S.S.C. examination or Matriculation examination or Lokshala examination or any other examination recognised as such by Government and the Primary Teachers Certificate Examination or Diploma in Education Examination, or Diploma in Education (Pre-Primary of two years duration)

Note.—A person holding a Diploma in Education (Pre-primary of two years’ duration) shall be qual