The main legal point established in the judgment is that the seniority of teachers in secondary schools is determined based on their place in the categories forming the ladder of seniority represented by Schedule F, and not merely on the date of their initial appointment.

This petition challenges an order passed by the School Tribunal at Amravati in an appeal under section 9 of the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools Act (“MEPS Act”). By the impugned order, the School Tribunal dismissed the petitioner’s appeal challenging (i) the promotion of respondent No. 4 (as Headmaster), (ii) promotions of respondent No. 5 (as Assistant Headmaster) and respondent Nos. 6 and 7 (as Supervisors), and (iii) the seniority list prepared by respondent No. 1 on 1st January, 2014.

2. On 1st August, 1985, the petitioner was appointed to the post of Assistant Teacher in the primary section of the 3rd respondent – school. At the time of his appointment, he was possessing the requisite qualification of S.S.C., D.Ed. for a Primary Teacher. Respondent No. 4 was appointed as an Assistant Teacher also in the primary section on 16th July, 1985. At that time she possessed the qualification of B.Sc., B.Ed.. On 24th November, 1988, Respondent No. 4 was appointed to the post of Secondary Teacher in the Higher Secondary School run by respondent No. 2, she having possessed the requisite qualifications for such appointment. Respondent Nos. 5, 6 and 7, who also possessed the qualifications of a graduate degree with B.Ed., were appointed as Assistant Teachers on 15th July, 1989. The Petitioner improved his qualifications to B.Sc. in the year 1997 and B.Ed. in 1999. The Management placed the petitioner and respondent Nos. 4 to 7 in the particular category of ‘trained graduate’, namely, category ‘C’, with effect from different dates. In the case of respondent Nos. 4 to 7, it placed them in category ‘C’ with effect from their appointment as assistant teachers since on that date they possessed the requisite qualification for category ‘C’, whilst the petitioner was placed in category ‘C’ with effect from the date he acquired the improved qualifications which enabled him to be placed in category ‘C’. Respondent Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 were promoted to the respective posts as noted above over the petitioner, based on this list of seniority prepared by the Management. The grievance of the petitioner in his appeal before the School Tribunal was that the seniority of the teachers including the petitioner herein fixed by the Management was in violation of Rule 12 of the MEPS Rules read with Schedule “F”. It was his case that the Rule required the management to prepare a seniority list of the teaching staff including the Headmaster and the Assistant Headmaster of the school in accordance with the guidelines laid down in Schedule “F” for fixation of seniority of teachers in Primary and Secondary Schools. Relying on the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Viman Vaman Awale vs. Gangadhar Makhriya Charitable Trust, (2014) 13 SCC 219 it was submitted that for promotion to the post of Headmaster of a School, the seniority of teachers should be counted from the date of their initial appointment irrespective of the point of time at which the various requisite qualifications are obtained by the teachers with a view to climb the ladder of seniority. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that if this principle is accepted, the petitioner is entitled to the post of Headmaster and not respondent No. 4. Learned counsel submits that the list of seniority needs, accordingly, to be altered for all concerned including the petitioner and respondent Nos. 4 to 7. Learned counsel also relies on the judgment of the Division Bench of our court in the case of Ramkrishna s/o Shriram Bhoyar and others vs. State of Maharashtra and others, Writ Petition No. 6146/2011 decided on 8 June, 2017 (Nagpur Bench) in support of his submissions.

3. The scheme of the MEPS Act and Rules framed thereunder, so far as it is relevant to decide the controversy in the present petition, may be noted at the outset as follows :

3.1 The MEPS Act, which extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra, and which has come into force on 15th July, 1981, regulates recru