The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Education Officer (Secondary) had no jurisdiction to review the earlier order and that the order of promotion to the post of Headmaster deprived the Education Officer (Secondary) of jurisdiction to determine the dispute of seniority.

JUDGMENT :

A.S. Chandurkar, J.

RULE. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard the learned counsel for the parties.

2. The petitioner who is an Assistant Teacher is aggrieved by the non- implementation of the order dated 24.07.2020 passed by the Education Officer (Secondary) in proceedings under Rule 12 of the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1981 (for short, ‘the Rules of 1981’). By that order, the Education Officer (Secondary) has held the petitioner to be senior in service to the third respondent. The petitioner has also challenged the order dated 11.01.2021 passed by the Education Officer (Secondary) granting financial and administrative powers to the third respondent for the period from 01.01.2021 to 31.03.2021. By amending the writ petition, the petitioner has also challenged the order dated 17.05.2021 again passed by the Education Officer (Secondary) in the proceedings under Rule 12 of the Rules of 1981 wherein the third respondent has been held senior to the petitioner. Consequentially, the order of approval dated 20.05.2021 approving the appointment of the third respondent as Headmaster from 01.01.2021 is also under challenge.

3. The facts relevant for adjudicating the writ petition are that it is the case of the petitioner that he has obtained the degrees of B.Com., M.P.Ed. The petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher at the school conducted by the second respondent-Management on 12.08.1994. His services came to be approved on 01.10.1994. The third respondent was appointed on 08.05.1994 and while approving his appointment on 02.09.1994 the Education Officer (Secondary) noted that the third respondent would not be able to claim his seniority as being placed in Category ‘C’ of the Rules of 1981. Thereafter on 30.06.1998, the third respondent was appointed in the middle school and thereafter placed in Category ‘C’. It is further the case of the petitioner that from 01.01.2008 he was shown to be senior to the third respondent in the respective annual seniority lists published by the Management every year. The petitioner was shown to have entered Category ‘C’ on 12.08.1994 while the third respondent was shown to have entered that Category on 07.10.1998. This position continued till the year 2018. On 01.01.2018 the Management published the seniority list in which the third respondent was shown senior to the petitioner. Being aggrieved on being shown junior to the third respondent, the petitioner invoked the jurisdiction of the Education Officer (Secondary) under Rule 12(3) of the Rules of 1981. The Education Officer (Secondary) considered the dispute of seniority between the petitioner and the third respondent and by the order dated 24.07.2020 held that since the petitioner was appointed as a Secondary School Teacher on 12.08.1994 and the third respondent was appointed as a Secondary School Teacher subsequently on 07.10.1998, the petitioner was senior in service to the third respondent. The Management was accordingly directed to correct the seniority list dated 01.01.2018 and thereafter to publish the revised seniority list.

4. It is further the case of the petitioner that despite such adjudication, the Management failed to correct the seniority list as directed and avoided showing the petitioner senior to the third respondent. The seniority list dated 01.01.2021 was thereafter published by the Management in which the third respondent was shown at Serial Number 1 while the petitioner was shown at Serial Number 2. Pursuant to this seniority list and as the post of Headmaster was vacant on account of superannuation of the earlier incumbent, the Management sought to grant of financial and administrative powers to the third respondent. The Education Officer (Secondary) granted the same on 11.01.2021 for the period from 01.01.2021 to 31.03.2021. Thereafter on 18.02.2021 the Management issued a communication to the Education Officer (Secondary) seeking approval to the appointment of the