The cut-off date for calculating teaching experience for recognition as Headmaster under Circulars Nos. 510 and 511 dated 20.11.81 is 2.10.1980, the date on which the Bihar Non-Government Secondary Schools (Taking over of Management and Control) Ordinance, 1980 came into force.

1. The petitioner seeks direction to the respondents to recognize him as Headmaster of High School, Kuchai, District West Singhbhum. The relevant facts are as follows :

2. The school in question was granted permission to establish by the then Bihar Secondary Education Board on 3.2.76. The petitioner claims to have been appointed as Headmaster of the school on 1.1.72 itself. On 17.10.79 the school was granted permanent recognition by the Board. Later the school was taken over under the Bihar Non-Government Secondary Schools (Taking over of Management and Control) Ordinance, 1980 (later replaced by Act) with offect from 2.10.80. Three writ petitions one after the other, were filed by the petitioner being CWJC Nos. 3236/85, 11/88 and 3072/93(R). Copies of the orders passed in the first two cases have not been brought on record but from the order passed in the third case dated 5.10.93, it appears that the petitioner was asked to make representation before the Director, Secondary Education. On 31.10.93 the Director, Secondary Education passed an order to the effect that the petitioner shall be treated as Assistant Teacher. From Annexure-1, it appears that the petitioner was transferred from High School, Kuchai to High School, Jawalkanta, District East Singhbhum.

3. Notwithstanding that three attempts to get a favourable order from this Court failed in the aforesaid writ petitions, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition on the strength of a recent order of the Supreme Court in the case of A.K. Pradhan V/s. State of Bihar, 1998(2) PLJR 2 (S.C.). It appears that a similar contention was raised before this Court in the case of Ram Balak Prasad Singh V/s. State of Bihar which was rejected by a reasoned order vide 1998(3) PLJR 255. It has been held that the order in the case of A.K Pradhan (supra) does not lay down any principle of law and therefore, has no binding effect.

4. Before I advert to the case of A.K. Pradhan, it would be appropriate to mention that the petitioner claims his rights in terms of Circular Nos. 510 and 511 dated 20.11.81. The said circulars, which have been held by a Division Bench of this Court to be law on the subject, lay down the criteria and the procedure for recognition of teachers as Headmasters in the taken over schools. It inter alia, provides that person who possesses certain years of teaching experience of recognised school, alone can be recognised as Headmaster. Dealing with the question as to the cut-off date with reference to which such teaching experience is to be reckoned, a Division Bench of this Court in the case of Phulena Prasad Yadav V/s. State of Bihar, 1991(2) PLJR 449 has observed;

"It is true that unlike circular no. 511, there is no specific mention as to on which date this ten years teaching experience is to be, calculated. But having regard to the fact that the said circular the post of Headmaster by promotion from amongst the eligible assistant teacher of the school in question, treating the school as a suit in cases where the vacancy had occurred prior to 2.10.1980, it would be clear that the cut off date for the purpose of calculating the teaching experience has to be 2.10.1980 and no other date. A bare perusal of the first part of the said circular, which has been extracted above, would show that in respect of vacancies on the post of Headmaster of taken over High Schools two categories have been carved out. In the first category are such schools in which the post of Headmaster fell vacant before 2.10.1980 and in the second category are such schools where the posts fell vacant on or after 2.10.1980. In cases falling in the first category, the schools were to be treated as separate unit for the purpose of filling up the post of Headmaster, the idea being that the status quo ante prevailing prior to 2.10.1980 was to be maintained, The Bihar Non- Government Secondary Schools (Taking over of Management and Control) Ordinance, 1980 came into force with effect from 2.10