IMPORTANT POINT
Extraordinary leave for higher studies cannot be arbitrarily denied when admission is secured and fees are paid, especially under amended Rule 96.

ORDER :

1. Petitioner is an aspirant to become a teacher by undergoing the pre requisite B.Ed. course. She has already secured admission at Choudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani, Haryana. Impugned herein is an order dated 06.09.2024 (Annex.4) passed by District & Sessions Judge, Jodhpur Metro, Jodhpur, in his administrative capacity, vide which, the petitioner has been denied extraordinary leave for improving her academic qualification by undertaking B.Ed. Course.

2. Succinctly speaking, relevant facts of case are as follows:

Petitioner is serving on the post of Clerk Grade II in the office of District & Sessions Judge, Jodhpur Metro, Jodhpur, since 20.12.2017.

2.1 The petitioner submitted an application seeking permission to pursue the B.Ed. course as well as to request the sanction of extraordinary leave without pay, as per the applicable service rules. The petitioner has already deposited the admission fees. The counseling is scheduled to be held in the first week of September 2024, and if permission/N.O.C. is not granted by then, her admission will be canceled.

2.4 The petitioner had earlier also approached this Court by filing a writ petition, S.B.C.W.P. No. 13969/2024. A Coordinate Bench of this Court vide an order dated 24.02.2022 directed respondent No. 02 to consider the petitioner's case for the grant of extraordinary leave to pursue the B.Ed. Course in accordance with law.

2.5 However, the petitioner's application for extra ordinary leave was rejected by order dated 06.09.2024, premised, inter alia, on the reasoning that the said course is not related to the efficiency of the petitioner's work. Same is thus not in the interest of the department.

3. The stand taken by the respondents in their reply, apart from other grounds, is that according to the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951, the maximum reasonable period for study leave is generally considered to be 12 months. However, the petitioner has sought leave for 2 years. Furthermore, it is not in the interest of the office/court for the petitioner to do the B.Ed course. It is thus stated that the petitioner is not entitled to the extraordinary leave of two years. Reliance is placed on Rule 59 of the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951 asserting that leave cannot be claimed as a matter of right. It is at the discretion of the leave sanctioning authority to refuse to sanction leave in the interest of public service or to cancel the sanctioned leave at any time.

3.1. It is also stated in reply that at present there are 23 posts of Clerk Grade II vacant in Jodhpur Metropolitan Jurisdiction. Amongst the serving 48 Clerk Grade II staff, most are promoted personnel from Class IV employees/process servers who lack knowledge of computers/typing. Given that the courts are now computerized, it is essential for personnel to have computer skills, and there is a shortage of such staff in this jurisdiction.

4. In the aforesaid backdrop, I have heard learned counsel for the respective parties and have gone through the case file.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the respondent's decision to reject the petitioner’s application for extraordinary leave is illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable. The petitioner’s application was denied based on Rule 110 of the Rajasthan Service Rules, which applies to study leave, while the petitioner sought extraordinary leave under Rule 96 of the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951.

5.1. The counsel urges that similar leave has been granted in the past to various other employees pursuing different courses, whereas the petitioner’s request was wrongly treated as a study leave application.

5.2. The counsel points out that of the 190 sanctioned posts for Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in Jodhpur Metropolitan, 25 were previously vacant. By an order dated 29.06.2023, 48 Clerk Grade II employees were transferred to Jodhpur Metropolitan, with only 6 transferred out. Thus, even if the petitioner’s request for leave to pursue a B.Ed. course is granted, the functioning of