1. This writ petition and several other writ petitions, as indicated in the annexed Schedule, have been filed by the petitioners aggrieved against orders passed by the respondents, whereby, pursuant to their selection under provisions of Rule 6D of the Rajasthan Educational Subordinate Service Rules, 1971 (‘Rules of 1971’), they have been adjusted/posted as per the Schedule at various schools under the Education Department.

2. It is, inter alia, the case of the petitioners that they were initially appointed on the post of Teacher Gr.-III, which has now been re-designated as Teacher Gr.-III, Level-I or Level–II under the provisions of Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (‘the Act of 1994’) and Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996 (‘the Rules of 1996’); services of the petitioners were confirmed/regularized under the provisions of the Act of 1994 & the Rules of 1996; it is alleged that though the petitioners were appointed and their services are governed by the Act of 1994 & the Rules of 1996, without their knowledge, their services are being transferred under the provisions of Rule 6D of the Rules of 1971 to the Education Department; the respondents took steps for changing the setup under Rule 6D of the Rules of 1971, whereby, instructions were issued for changing the setup, calling upon the candidates/teachers to appear for the counseling; pursuant thereto, the orders have been passed transferring the petitioners from the Schools under the Panchayati Raj Department to the Education Department.

3. It is, inter alia, submitted that the process under Rule 6D of the Rules of 1971 is a mode of recruitment and is permissible only when the individual is fulfilling the eligibility criteria on the date of appointment and is willing for change of setup from Panchayati Raj Department to the Education Department; the petitioners were made to participate in the counseling as they were relieved to participate in the counseling and even during counseling the respondents did not adhere to their own guidelines. The orders impugned are in violation of provisions of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Transferred Activities) Rules, 2011 (‘Rules of 2011’).

4. Based on the above submissions, a prayer has been made for quashing of the orders impugned and allowing the petitioners to continue with the Panchayati Raj Department.

5. A reply to the writ petition has been filed by the respondents, inter alia, indicating that Teachers Gr.-III Level-I are required to teach the students upto Class-V and Teachers Gr.III Level-II are required to teach the students from Class-VI to VIII; cadre of Teacher Gr.-III is considered district wise and their seniority for the purpose of promotion for Teacher Gr.-II is also maintained at district level; the minimum qualification for Teacher Gr.-III is Senior Secondary BSTC in terms of the Rules of 1971, the Teacher Gr.-III, having Graduation with B.Ed. degree, is eligible for Level-II and for promotion as Teacher Gr.-II the qualification is Graduation with B.Ed. degree.

6. It is, inter alia, indicated that the State Government took a decision to merge Primary and Upper Primary Schools to nearby Secondary/Senior Secondary Schools and, therefore, now the Schools, which are under the control of Secondary Education Department, are imparting education for I to X/XII standard; it is also submitted that pursuant to the said merger, the need of Teachers Gr.-III Level-I and II for teaching students upto V standard were required under the administrative control and, therefore, Teachers are transferred and absorbed in the Secondary Education Department as per their seniority in terms of Rule 6D of the Rules of 1971.

7. Submissions have been made that the issues sought to be raised have already been decided by this Court when similar steps were taken by the respondent Department in the year 2015 and the action of the respondents has been upheld; a specific submission has been made that the service conditions of the Teachers, who have bee