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High Court Of Calcutta
Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Jayanta Kumar Biswas
MANINDRA NATH SINHA - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF WEST BENGAL - Respondent
F. M. A. 1425 Of 2003
Decided On : 09/06/2006
EDUCATION - APPOINTMENT OF ORGANIZER-TEACHERS - APPROVAL - MAINTAINABILITY OF WRIT PETITION - APPLICABILITY OF PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL DOCTRINE - VALIDITY OF GOVERNMENT INSTRUCTIONS - SCOPE OF WEST BENGAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT, 1963 AND RULES - LEGALITY OF APPOINTMENTS BY ORGANIZING MANAGING COMMITTEE - INTERPRETATION OF RULE 28 OF THE MANAGEMENT RULES - POWER OF MANAGING COMMITTEE UNDER THE RULES - AUTHORITY TO APPOINT TEACHERS AND NON-TEACHING STAFF - REGULARIZATION OF ILLEGAL APPOINTMENTS - APPLICABILITY OF DOCTRINE OF PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL AGAINST GOVERNMENT - CONDITIONS FOR INVOCATION - VIOLATION OF STATUTORY PROVISIONS - LEGALITY OF GOVERNMENT CIRCULARS - SCOPE OF WEST BENGAL PRIMARY EDUCATION ACT, 1973 AND RULE 3D - AMENDMENT OF RULE 3D - ABSORPTION OF ORGANIZER-TEACHERS - APPLICABILITY OF DOCTRINE OF LEGITIMATE EXPECTATION.
Fact of the Case:
The appellants, claiming to be organizer-staff of a school, challenged the order of the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore, dismissing their representation for approval of their appointments. The school was recognized by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for three years with effect from 1st May, 1994 and subsequently, the recognition was extended for further three years with effect from May 1, 1997. The appellants claimed that they were appointed by the Organizing Managing Committee of the school before its recognition. The District Inspector of Schools initially approved their appointments but later withdrew the approval. The appellants filed a writ petition challenging the withdrawal of approval, which was dismissed by a learned Single Judge. The appellants preferred an appeal against the dismissal of the writ petition.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the appointments of the appellants were illegal as they were not made in accordance with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Act, 1963 and the Rules framed thereunder. The Court also held that the Government instructions regularizing such illegal appointments were invalid. The Court further held that the doctrine of promissory estoppel was not applicable in the present case as the appointments were made in violation of the statutory provisions. The Court also held that the circulars issued by the Government permitting the appointment of organizer-teachers before the recognition of the school were illegal.
Issues: 1. Whether the writ petition was maintainable in view of the decisions of two learned Single Judges of the Court holding that there is no scope of approval of appointment of an organizer-teacher within the scope of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Act, 1963 or the Rules framed thereunder? 2. Whether the appointments of the appellants by the Organizing Managing Committee of the school were legal? 3. Whether the Government instructions regularizing the illegal appointments were valid? 4. Whether the doctrine of promissory estoppel was applicable in the present case? 5. Whether the circulars issued by the Government permitting the appointment of organizer-teachers before the recognition of the school were legal?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court held that the writ petition was maintainable as the legality of the Government instructions regularizing the illegal appointments was a question of law that had not been considered by the two learned Single Judges in their decisions. 2. The Court held that the appointments of the appellants by the Organizing Managing Committee of the school were illegal as they were not made in accordance with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Act, 1963 and the Rules framed thereunder. 3. The Court held that the Government instructions regularizing the illegal appointments were invalid as they were in violation of the statutory provisions. 4. The Court held that the doctrine of promissory estoppel was not applicable in the present case as the appointments were made in violation of the statutory provisions. 5. The Court held that the circulars issued by the Government permitting the appointment of organizer-teachers before the recognition of the school were illegal as they were not in accordance with the Act and the Rules.
Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed.
( 1 ) THIS mandamus-appeal is at the instance of unsuccessful writ petitioners and is directed against the order dated July 5, 2002 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court thereby dismissing the writ application filed by the appellants. In the said writ application, the writ petitioners challenged the order dated 17th May, 2000 passed by the District inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore, by which the said District Inspector of schools dismissed the representation of the appellants for the approval of their appointments in the concerned school as organizer-staff.
( 2 ) THE facts leading to the filing of the present mandamus-appeal may be summed up thus: - (a) The writ petitioners are eight in number. The petitioner No. 1 claimed to be the organizer-Headmaster, the petitioner Nos. 2 to 6 as organizer-teachers, the petitioner No. 7 as organizer-clerk and the petitioner No. 8 as organizer Class-IV staff of one Sardiha Anchalik Junior high School, Village-Baharakotha, P. S.-Jhargram, District-Midnapore (hereinafter referred to as the concerned school ). According to the writ petitioners, the said school had been functioning continuously with effect from 16th January, 1986 and they entered into the service of the said school after being duly appointed by the Organizing Committee of the said school. They, however, claimed that the school really started on january 1, 1974 but due to financial stringency, after two academic sessions, the school ceased to function and was subsequently, started operating from January, 1986 after the local public decided to revive the same by forming an Organizing Managing Committee and appointing organising-staff through the said Committee. (b) The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for the first time recognized the said School as IV-Class Junior High School for three years with effect from 1st May, 1994 and subsequently, the recognition of the said school was extended for further three years with effect from may 1, 1997. (c) After the first recognition of the school, the writ petitioners prayed for approval of their appointments as regular staff and also for payment of salary and allowance from 1 st May, 1994 before the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary Education) Midnapore. Since no reply was given by the District Inspector of Schools, they moved a writ application before this Court praying for direction upon the District Inspector of Schools for the approval of their appointment being C. O. No. 19073 (W) of 1994. (d) Shyamal Kumar Sen, J. (as His Lordship then was) on 13th march, 1997 appointed Mr. Amal Kumar Das, a learned Advocate of this court as Special Officer to carry on the day-to-day administration of the said school since the life of the Managing Committee of the said school had already expired and the learned Special Officer was directed to take all steps necessary to reconstitute the Managing Committee as early as possible. The Special Officer was further directed to send the names of the organizing-teachers, who, he considered, were entitled to be approved by the District Inspector of Schools, Midnapore and His Lordship also directed the District Inspector of Schools, Midnapore to take appropriate decision on the question of approval of the appointment of the writ petitioners in accordance with law. (e) The learned Special Officer considered the cases for approval of appointments of the writ petitioners and decided that all the writ petitioners were entitled to be approved in their respective posts and accordingly, by his letter dated 25th June, 1997 recommended the names of the writ petitioners for being approved to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore, since the date of first recognition of the school, namely, may 1, 1994. (f) By memo dated 11th December, 1997, the Acting District inspector of Schools (SE), Midnapore, rejected the case of the writ petitioners for being approved and accordingly, the writ petitioners challenged th
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