Promotion to Principal of Higher Secondary School requires first considering senior-most Headmaster from Secondary Schools under common management per next below category rule, superseding Grade-I Teachers despite school-specific seniority.

JUDGMENT :

(Per Suman Shyam, J.

1. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith with the consent of learned Counsel appearing for the parties. Learned Counsel appearing for the Respondents, waive notice.

2. Heard Mr. Lotlikar, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Petitioner, Mr. Samant, learned Additional Government Advocate appearing for the Respondent nos. 1 and 2, Mr. Shivraj Gaonkar, learned Counsel appearing for Respondent no. 3 and Mr. Desai, learned Senior Counsel appearing for Respondent nos. 4 and 5.

3. The Petitioner herein is serving as Teacher-Grade 1 in Shree Ganesh Higher Secondary School, Ganeshpuri i.e. Respondent no. 5 herein, which school is managed by the Respondent no.4-Society. Assailing the Departmental Promotion Committee’s (DPC) recommendations made in the meeting held on 25.11.2024, whereby the name of the Respondent no. 3 has been recommended for the post of Principal of the Respondent no. 5- School as well as the consequential Order of promotion dated 26.11.2024 promoting the Respondent no.3 to the post of Principal, the present Writ Petition has been filed.

4. The facts and circumstances of the case, in a nut-shell, are that, the Respondent no.4-Society had established three Schools in the State of Goa, viz.Shri Ganesh Higher Secondary School at Ganeshpuri, Mapusa, i.e. the Respondent no. 5-, Shanta Vidyalaya at Siolim and People’s High School at Camurlim. All the three Schools are functioning under independent Managing Committees of the Respondent no.4-Society.

5. The writ petitioner had joined the Respondent no.5-School on 19.07.2014 as Teacher Grade-1. However, since her joining as aforesaid, till 30.04.2015, the Petitioner’s services were ‘on lecture basis’. It was only on 07.07.2025 that the Petitioner was appointed as Teacher-Grade -1 in Economics in the Respondent no.5-School on regular basis in the pay scale of Rs. 9300-34800 + Grade pay of Rs. 4800/-. The appointment of the Petitioner vide Order dated 07.07.2015, was approved by the Director of Education i.e. the Respondent no.2 herein on 10.09.2015. The Petitioner was initially put on probation for a period of two years from the date of her appointment. However, the service of the Petitioner as Teacher- Grade-1 was confirmed vide Order dated 07.07.2017 with effect from the date of the said Order.

6. It is the case of the writ petitioner that Shri Gajanan H. Mandrekar, who was serving as the Principal of the Respondent no.5- School, was due for retirement on attaining the age of superannuation w.e.f. 31.07.2024. Since the Petitioner was the senior-most Teacher in the Grade-1 in the said School, whenever the Principal viz. Gajanan Mandrekar was absent or went on leave, she was given the charge of Principal and, in this manner, she had functioned as in-charge Principal of the School on atleast ten occasions.

7. Since the Management of the School did not take any steps for filling up the vacant post of Principal upon retirement of Shri Mandrekar and the Petitioner being the senior-most Teacher Grade-1 in the School, she had submitted a letter dated 22.07.2024 addressed to the Respondent no. 4 requesting the management to take necessary steps for filling up the post of Principal of the School on regular basis.

8. It has been further mentioned that the Respondent no.4 had circulated the tentative seniority list of Grade-1 Teachers for the A