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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
D.Y. Chandrachud, Ajay Rastogi, JJ.
Meena Sharma - Appellant
Versus
State Of Jammu And Kashmir & Ors. - Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 9183 of 2019 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 2035 of 2019)
Decided On : 03-12-2019
RET Scheme - Appointment Dispute - [Rehbar-e-Taleem] - [Scheme of Rehbar-e-Taleem] - [Summary of the RET Scheme and its provisions discussed by the court]
Fact of the Case:
The case involved a dispute over the appointment of an RET teacher under the Rehbar-e-Taleem (RET) Scheme. The appellant, appointed as an RET teacher, faced a challenge from the fifth respondent regarding her eligibility for the appointment.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the fifth respondent's challenge suffered from an unexplained delay and that the appellant's appointment was not vitiated. The court also noted that the appellant had been regularized in service and had continued after regularization for nearly six years, and the fifth respondent could not claim a vested right to appointment based on the Select List of 2003 at this stage.
Issues: The key issues included the eligibility criteria under the RET Scheme, the delay in challenging the appointment, and the equities that had ensued in favor of the appellant.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the unexplained delay in challenging the appointment, the regularization of the appellant, and the lack of a vested right for the fifth respondent based on the Select List of 2003.
Final Decision: The appeal was allowed, and the impugned judgment and order of the High Court were set aside. The Writ Petitions filed by the fifth respondent were dismissed, and there was no order as to costs.
JUDGMENT
D.Y. Chandrachud, J. - Leave granted.
2. This appeal arises from a judgment of a Division Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir dated 31 December 2018. The High Court upheld a judgment of a learned Single Judge dated 15 December 2014 setting aside the appointment of the Appellant under a scheme called the Rehbar-e-Taleem [1] Scheme. The learned Single Judge directed the State to consider the case of the fifth Respondent, for her appointment as an RET in the Government Middle School, Bakore.
[1] "RET"
3. The RET Scheme was notified by the State Government on 28 April 2000. Some of the salient features of the Scheme are extracted from the judgment of the High Court:
Sanction is accorded to launching of the Scheme of Rehbar-e-Taleem" with the objective of:
a. Promoting the decentralized management of elementary education with the community participation and involvement.
b. To ensure accountability and responsiveness through a strong backup and supervision through the community.
c. To operationalize effectively the schooling system at the grass roots level.
The scheme shall be effectuated for provision of services of Teaching guides called "Rehbar-e-Taleem" in the Primary and Middle Schools to make up the deficiency of the staff as per the existent norms.
Concept of Rehbar-e-Taleem
The person to be provided to make up the deficiency of the staff at the elementary level of education will be designated as Rehbar-e-Taleem. The underlying objective is to posit the role of the teaching guide as catalyst for quality education and to ensure the overall development of the personality of the children. Drawn from the local community, the accountability of the teacher called as "Rehbar-e-Taleem" would be immediate providing for constant interface and interaction with the community to secure universal enrolment and to check the incidence of drop outs.
Role of Village Level Committee
Rehbar-e-Taleem (Teaching Guide) shall be engaged by VLC conceptualized vide Circular order No. Edu/Plan-184/2000 dated 17.02.2000. However, for the purpose of selection of Rehbar-e-Taleem, the composition of VLC as visualized in the aforesaid Circular shall be modified to the extent of associating ZEO in place of Headmaster as the Convenor.
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i. VLC shall assess the requirement of teachers in the Primary/ Middle Schools within the area of their operation in due regard to the approved norms of staffing and the Roll. On the basis of the said assessment, VLC would draw up a panel of eligible qualified persons from the village.
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Eligibility
i. Rehbar-e-Taleem should be the permanent resident of the State.
ii. He or she should belong to the village where there is assessed deficiency of staff. On the certification of VLC that no local candidate from within the village is available, VLC can draw up the panel from the adjoining village.
4. By a Government Order dated 24 August 2005, the expression "village" was clarified thus:
It is hereby clarified/ re-affirmed that the expression "Village" used in the instructions/ orders aforesaid shall mean, and shall always be deemed to have meant, a Revenue Village.
5. The two villages in question in the present case are Chak Koura, to which the Appellant belongs and the village of Bakore, to which the fifth Respondent belongs. Both these villages are situated on the international border at a distance of four kilometers. There was no school in the village of Chak Koura to which the Appellant belongs. An advertisement was issued on 23 November 2001 by the Zonal Education Office seeking applications from local candidates of the villages where the educational institution(s) were situated for engagement as RET teaching guides. Two posts were vacant, one each in the Middle School for Boys and Girls at Bakore. Fourteen applications were received. A panel was formed in which the first nine candidates belonged to village Bakore and the rest to the adjoining village of Chak Koura. The panel was sub
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