IMPORTANT POINT
The court emphasized the necessity of adhering to statutory reservation provisions in employment, rejecting claims of isolated post applicability.

JUDGMENT :

(Per Nitin W. Sambre, J.)

RULE. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties.

ii. The challenge in the petition is to the order dated 31-10-2023 wherein the respondent no.3- Education Officer has refused to grant approval to the appointment of the petitioner no.2 on the post of 'Laboratory Attendant'.

iii. The contention of Mr. Jibhkate, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners, is that the present petition is the second round of litigation. According to him, in the earlier round of litigation, this Court in Writ Petition No.2998/2021 was pleased to direct reconsideration of the issue about the grant of approval to the appointment of the petitioner no.2 by making the following observation in paragraph 3 of the judgment dated 27-09-2023, which read thus :

"3. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and after perusing the documents on record we find that for the academic session 2008-2009 as well as 2009-2010 one post of Laboratory Attendant is shown to be sanctioned in the Staff Justification. The appointment of the petitioner is pursuant to the advertisement dated 14-10-2009 which would thus indicate prima facie that at that point of time one post of Laboratory Attendant was sanctioned. Insofar as other tow reasons assigned in the impugned order are concerned they pertain to the policy prevailing on account of Covid Pandemic. That policy is now no longer in operation. In these facts, we find that the interest of justice would be served by directing the Education Officer (Secondary) to reconsider the proposal that was initially moved by the Management seeking approval to the appointment of the petitioner. The said proposal is dated 19-10-2011. To enable reconsideration of the said proposal the order dated 29-06-2021 is set aside. The petitioner as well as the Headmaster of respondent No.4 should appear with all record before the Education Officer (Secondary) on 9.10.2023. Within a period of four weeks form that date the said proposal shall be decided and the decision shall be communicated to the parties. Proposal be decided on its own merits in accordance with law. Rule is made absolute in the above terms. No costs."

iv. Learned Counsel Mr. Jibhkate would claim that the Education Officer, pursuant to the aforesaid directions reconsidered the issue and has travelled beyond the scope of the directions issued by this Court by furnishing five reasons for rejection of approval. He would invite the attention of this Court to ground nos. (i) and (iii), which read thus:

"(i) That, the Respondent No.3 Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad, Bhandara is not justified in clubbing the post of Laboratory Attendant along with post of Peon sanctioned as per the order of staff justification for the purpose of reservation when particularly three sanctioned posts of Peon are separately shown and post of Laboratory Attendant is independently shown in the order of staff justification of Devi Saraswati Vidyalaya, Shingori, Tahsil & District Bhandara from the academic session 2009- 2010 to onward and therefore, very premise i.e. foundation of the impugned order cannot stand at the scrutiny of law and the same is liable to be quashed and set aside.

(ii) ***

(iii) The Respondent No.3 is not justified in not granting approval to the appointment of Petitioner No.2 as a Laboratory Attendant making the reference of roster verified by the Assistant Commissioner, Backward Cell, Nagpur Division, Nagpur when particularly the same is not in conformity with the percentage of reservation to backward class category candidates specified under Rule 9(7) of the Rules, 1981. As per said Rule, 7% reservation to S.T. category is provided. Without causing any prejudice to the grounds raised herein above even if it is assumed that post of Laboratory Attendant along with post of Peon, there cannot be reservation amongst 4 posts for S.T. category candidate since it would come below 0.50. It