ORDER

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal relates to the appointment of primary teachers in nationalised primary schools in the State of Jharkhand. After the State of Jharkhand was created on 15-11-2000, the Jharkhand Primary School Recruitment Rules were enacted on 1-7-2002. The Rules which came into force on 29-6-2003 provided, inter alia, for the definition of the word "trained" in Rule 2-b. It reads as follows:

"2-b.-'Trained' means those persons who have obtained following training and have passed from recognised training institutes(1) 2 years' training as teacher; or (2) BEd/Diploma in Ed/Diploma in Tech (3) CPEd/DPEd 3. On 29-8-2002 an advertisement was issued for appointment of trained teachers in the primary schools at district level by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission. The advertisement specified that application on forms prescribed by the Commission were invited for 9223 vacant posts of teachers in government primary schools as per the Jharkhand Primary School Appointment (Amendment) Rules. The application forms provided:

"After the selection, the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned after the districtwise allocation, will as per law verify the• genuineness of the educational qualification/training/institution concerned/and its recognition before joining." 4. On 27-5-2003 an examination was held by the Commission pursuant to the said advertisement. All the appellants before us succeeded in the examination when the results were declared on 14-11-2003.

5. According to the appellants they were selected. When they went to join they were refused to be appointed on the ground that the institutions from which they had got their teachers' training certificates were not recognised.

Being aggrieved by the refusal, the appellants filed a writ petition. The learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition. The provisions of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993, particularly Section 14 thereof which provides for recognition of institutions offering teachers' training education, were relied upon. Section 16 of the Act dealing with affiliation was also referred to. It was concluded that every institution offering or intending to offer the course or training in teacher education shall have to be recognised by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). The Court also noted that the Government of Jharkhand at the direction of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission had issued letters dated 13-11-2003 and 4-12-2003 giving detailed guidelines in respect of appointment of selected candidates. In the guidelines issued, it was, inter alia, stated:

"(iv) So far as the private institutions like David Hare College of Correspondence, Calcutta, Sister Nivedita College, Calcutta, Mr B.C. Ray College, Calcutta, All India Education Society, Calcutta, All India Correspondence Coaching Society, Calcutta are concerned, it has been decided not to accept the certificates of those institutions because they hold private examinations and declare their results. Those institutions are a neither recognised by the Council under the Act of 1993 nor by the Government of West Benga1." 6. The Court also relied upon a directory issued by the Eastern Regional Committee of National Council for Teacher Education in which the list of those teachers' training institutions, their year of establishment, number of seats approved by NCTE and the names of the examining body to which the b institutions are affiliated had been mentioned. It was noted that the institutions from which the appellants had obtained teachers' training certificates were not included. Indeed the appellants did not dispute that the institutions had not been recognised nor were they affiliated to NCTE. The, institutions conduct their own examinations privately and issued certificates of training. The Court relied upon various decisions of this Court including c the decision in N.M. Nageshwaramma v. State of A.P. in which it was held:

(SCC pp. 170-71, para 3)

"If by a fiat