The allocation of postings must be fair, transparent, and based on established merit principles, ensuring that no employee is arbitrarily deprived of their rightful position.

JUDGMENT :

JUSTICE HARISH KUMAR, J.

Date : 30-08-2025 Heard the learned Advocates for the petitioners and the learned Advocates for the respondents.

2. In the bunch of the writ petitions, there are two sets of writ petitions; one set of teachers are ‘Head Teachers’ and another set of teachers are ‘Head Masters’. Since the issue(s) in these writ petitions are one and identical, with the consent of the parties, all these writ petitions have been heard together and are being disposed off by a common order.

3. For the appreciation, the facts narrated in C.W.J.C.No.11252 of 2025, which deals with the case of Head Teachers and in relation to Head Masters in C.W.J.C. No.12219 of 2025 shall be treated as lead case whereas the counter affidavit filed in the afore-noted C.W.J.C. No.11252 of 2025 duly sworn by the Joint Director, Primary Education, Government of Bihar shall be treated as response to all the writ petitions, since the stand of the State is one and identical in all the cases.

4. The 1^st set of Teachers were appointed as Head Teachers in primary and elementary schools, pursuant to the examinations conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (for short ‘the BPSC’) under the Advertisement No. 25/2024. Their appointments are governed by the Bihar Elementary Schools Head Teachers Rules, 2024. Similarly the 2^nd set of Teachers were appointed as Head Master in Higher/Senior Secondary Schools, pursuant to the Advertisement No.26/2024 duly conducted by the BPSC in terms with Bihar State School Teacher (Appointment, Transfer, Disciplinary Proceedings and Service Conditions) Rules, 2023.

5. Based upon the performance of the candidates, in the process of selection undertaken by the BPSC, a merit list in respect of the candidates were prepared, on being found them successful. While the exercise of counselling and the verification of the credentials were in process, in the meanwhile, on 02.01.2025, the Director, Primary Education, issued letter to all the District Education Officers across the State of Bihar instructing them that all the successful candidates for the post of Head Teachers must submit three districts preferences through the e-ShikshaKosh portal. The letter made it clear that the district allotment would be carried out on the principle of merit-cum-choice; and if a candidate could not be allotted anyone of the districts of their choice based on merit, the nearest available district from their preferences would be assigned on an administrative standpoint. In pursuant to the letter, all the successful candidates, including the petitioners, who were selected as Head Teachers submitted their district preferences through online, as instructed.

6. On 03.04.2025, the Director, Primary Education, issued a further order disclosing that altogher 35,386 Head Teacher candidates were submitted online preferences, out of which 35,333 online requests were verified. Based on these verified preferences, districts were allotted to those 35,333 candidates.

7. Some of the candidates, on being aggrieved with their non-allocation of preferential posting, preferred C.W.J.C. No.16614 of 2025 before this Court challenging the district allotment made pursuant to the orders dated 02.01.202