1. All these writ applications involving almost an identical main issue, namely, promotion on the post of Headmaster from amongst the physically trained teachers working in the taken over secondary schools, have been heard together and are being disposed of by this order.

2. It would be, however, necessary to take into account the pleadings on record of all these writ applications before the aforesaid common as well as anciliary issues raised therein are considered and decided.

C.W.J.C. No. 15869/2007

3. The eleven petitioners in this writ application have assailed the notification dated 24.12.2006 issued by the Deputy Secretary of Human Resources Development Department, whereby and whereunder the clarification has been made that the physical trained teacher are not eligible to be considered for appointment/promotion for the post of Headmaster.

4. At the outset it has to be noted that in C.W.J.C. No. 15869/2007 an intervention application, I.A. No. 425/2012, has been filed on behalf of eleven more teachers, namely, Saroj Kumar, Ram Janaki Mishra, Rajendra Rai, Ram Avtar Singh, Suresh Prasad Singh, Lal Bachcha Singh, Parshuram Singh, Arjun Singh, Nand Singh, Tribhuvan Singh and Manager Chaudhary, with a prayer for their being added as petitioners in C.W.J.C. No. 15869/2007.

5. Though Patna High Court Rules under Chapter XXIC laying down the norms of disposal of the writ application does not evisage addition of any person for being added as writ petitioners, inasmuch as the provision therein contemplates addition of a person seeking intervention only as a respondent to oppose the prayer in this writ application, this Court, taking into account that the intervener applicants themselves have claimed to have their cases identical to eleven petitioners of C.W.J.C. No. 15869/2007, would in the interest of justice allow their prayer in I.A. No. 425 of 2012 with a condition that they would also now be governed by the result of this writ application and will have no liberty to raise the same question afresh independently in a separate proceeding before this Court.

6. The writ petitioners in this writ application have stated that all of them had undergone the course of training of physical education training and have also passed the pescribed examination of such training course, whereafter they were appointed on the post of physical trained teachers in different nationalized High Schools in the pay scale of an Assistant Teacher. In the appointment letter all the trained teachers in physical education including the petitioners were also put under obligation to teach any other subject as may be assigned to them by the Headmaster in addition to their duty as teacher of physical education.

7. It has also been stated that earlier there was some dispute in 1974 with regard to grant of Postgraduate scale as also their promotion on the post of Headmaster to the teachers of Physical Education but the issue was resolved by this Court by a Division Bench Judgment of this Court dated 18.1.1979 in the case of Kumar Kant Choudhary vs. District Education Officer, Darbhanga & Others, 1979 BBCJ 184, wherein it was held that a graduate having Diploma in physical education should be treated as trained graduate in the matter of salary and emoluments and also eligible for promotion on the post of Assistant, Headmaster and Headmaster in a High School. Reliance has also been placed on an order of a learned Single Judge dated 7.11.1979 in C.W.J.C. No. 1848/1979 wherein the ratio laid down by the Division Bench in the case of Kumar Kant Choudhary (supra) was followed. As a matter of fact the petitioners have proceeded that in view of both the Division Bench Judgment in the case of Kumar Kant Choudhary it has to be necessarily held that the issue promotion/appointment on the post of Headmaster in Nationalized High School for a teacher possessing qualification of training in physical education also stands settled and covered, and a teacher graduate trained in phys