IMPORTANT POINTS
High Court it is writ jurisdiction cannot decide a matter which is neither pleaded nor argued.
Appointments made contrary to statutory provisions and procedures are nullity.
If Rules do not provide for appointment of candidates having higher than those prescribed but not those prescribed, such persons cannot be appointed.
Government instructions contrary to statutory provisions are nullity.
If the school appoints teachers in contravention of statutory provisions, Government is not responsible and the school, has to bear the expenditure.

Judgment

J.S. KHEHAR, J.

The Management of the Doaba Arya Senior Secondary School, Nawanshahr, issued an advertisement in the Indian Express dated 25.05.2002, inviting applications for six vacant posts of JBT/ETT teachers. Since the controversy, being adjudicated upon, is substantially to be determined on the basis of the contents of the advertisement, the above advertisement dated 25.05.2002 is being extracted hereunder:

“Doaba Arya Senior Secondary School, Nawanshahr Wanted following dedicated, talented, trained and experienced teachers against six vacant JBT/ETT aided posts preferably one M.A. English, one M.Sc. Chem., One M.Sc. Bio, M.Com., one M.Sc. Maths, one M.A. Eco and one Watchman. Apply Principal afresh within ten days alongwith testimonials. Reservation exists as per Govt. rules.

Sd/-

Principal, Doaba Arya Sr. Sec. School,

Nawanshahr.”

2. The private respondents were selected against the six advertised posts, by the Managing Committee of the above school. Despite their selection and consequential appointment, the State Government did not accord its approval. It is in the aforesaid circumstances, that the private respondents, i.e., the selected JBT/ETT teachers issue a notice dated 1.2.2004, wherein they sought approval of the State Government, as also, wages for the period they had been discharging their duties. Since, they did not receive any response to the legal notice dated 1.2.2004, the private respondents approached the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as the 'High Court') by filing Civil Writ Petition No.6789 of 2004. Rather than examining the merits of the controversy, the High Court by its order dated 27.04.2004, required the State Government to take a decision on the legal notice, issued by the private respondents. It is therefore, that the District Education Officer, Nawanshahr (hereinafter referred to as the 'DEO') passed an order dated 04.4.2005, declining the claim of the private respondents. A perusal of the speaking order passed by the DEO, inter alia, reveals, that the private respondents had been appointed in violation of the statutory rules regulating appointments to privately managed recognised schools. It was also indicated in the order dated 04.4.2005, that the selection process was not in consonance with the statutory rules.

3. The order passed by the DEO dated 04.4.2005 was assailed by the private respondents before the High Court by filing Civil Writ Petition No. 15599 of 2006. The same came to be allowed by the impugned order dated 2.7.2007. A perusal of the impugned order reveals, that the High Court emphatically placed reliance on an earlier litigation in respect of the same selection process, wherein a Division Bench of the High Court, while disposing of civil writ petition No. 13979 of 2002 (by order dated 16.2.2004), had found the petitioner therein not possessing superior qualifications to the private respondent no.4, whose selection was sought to be assailed. The High Court had also, while disposing of civil writ petition no.13979 of 2002, rejected the contention advanced at the hands of the petitioner therein, that the process of selection was vitiated on account of bias.

4. Since the order passed in civil writ petition no. 13979 of 2002 was affirmed by this Court, the special leave petition filed against the said order before this Court was dismissed. The High Court inferred from the above dismissal, that the selection process had been approved by this Court.

5. We will first endeavour to deal with the basis adopted by the High Court in affirming the selection process of the private respondents, consequent whereof they came to be appointed as JBT/ETT teachers. It would be relevant to mention, that the qualifications prescribed for the advertised JBT/ETT posts were not at all the subject matter of consideration in writ petition no. 13979 of 2002,