A condition of residence for appointment to public employment is violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution unless it is based on a reasonable classification and is necessary to achieve a legitimate objective.

N. P. Singh, J.

1. The petitioner has questioned the validity of an advertisement dated 7-5-1985 issued by the District Superintendent of Education, hazaribagh, inviting applications for preparation of a Panel of candidates for appointment to the posts of Assistant Teachers in the Primary Schools of the district and the order dated 31-1-1986 issued by the Special Secretary, Department of Education, Government of Bihar, laying down the requisite qualifications conditions for being considered for appointment to the aforesaid posts.

2. In the advertisement aforesaid, one of the conditions for eligibility to apply for the posts aforesaid was that the applicant must be a trained teacher from the district of Hazaribagh or he must have passed the Metric or higher education from the district of Hazaribagh or his parent must be living in the said district for the last ten years.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that he became a trained teacher having received training in an institution in the district of Hazaribagh and as such he was eligible for making application for one of the posts advertised. Later, by an order dated 31-1-1986, the Special Secretary, Department of Education, government of Bihar, while purporting to exercise power under Sec.8 of the bihar Non-Government Elementary Schools (Taking Over of Control) Act, 1976 (Bihar Act 30 of 1976), defined "residents of the district" to mean (i) the original or permanent residents of the district, (ii) persons whose parents were living in the district in question for more than ten years. About the female candidates it was mentioned that they shall be deemed to be the permanent residents of the district if their husbands or fathers were the residents of the district.

4. The petitioner, although not fulfilling the criteria of the resident of the district given above, had received training from an institution in the district of hazaribagh and as such he fulfilled the condition as mentioned in the aforesaid advertisement dated 7-5-1985. But, after the issuance of the order of the Special secretary dated 31-1-1986, he was disqualified as he was not a resident of the district of Hazaribagh in terms of the definition given in the aforesaid order.

5. From time to time, the different State Governments and the institutions in order to provide employment and admission in the institutions to the local residents of the area have made provisions restricting the invasion from outsiders. Even if such attempts are held to be bona fide, before they can be upheld by courts they have to pass the tests of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. Normally, a citizen of India is entitled to be considered for any employment or admission in any educational institution irrespective of the area of his birth or residence. This right guaranteed to him by Constitution can be restricted by any provision which can" be held to have treated a group of persons as a class separate from the rest and this classification has nexus with any reasonable object which is sought to be achieved.

6. Now so far the present case is concerned, the question which has to be answered is as to whether it was open to the State Government in order to provide employment to the residents of the district of Hazaribagh to put a condition which is under challenge. It is apparent that, in view of the condition imposed, the residents of other districts of the State of Bihar have been denied an opportunity of being considered for appointment to the posts in the different Primary Schools in the district of Hazaribagh.

7. The relevant part of Article 16 of the Constitution is as follows :-

"16. Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. (1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the state. (2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminate