The main legal point established in the judgment is that the petitioner's long service as a Trained Graduate Teacher against a substantive vacant post and the Government's decision to declare the non-regular teaching and non-teaching staff as regular Government Servants as of 28.02.2004 warranted the regularization of the petitioner's service from the date of the Government resolution i.e. 28.02.2004.

JUDGMENT

Dr. S.K. Panigrahi, J. - Since similar questions of law or facts are involved in all the above Writ Petitions, all the matters were heard together. However, this Court felt it appropriate to decide WPC (OAC) No.2709 of 2016 and whatever the outcome of the said Writ Petition, the same will be covered to other similar Writ Petitions mentioned above.

Facts of the case:

2. The petitioner having the qualification of B.A. B.Ed was initially appointed as an Assistant Teacher against a Trained Graduate Post as per the Order No.515 dated 21.01.1994 by the Executive Officer, Berhampur Municipality by following due procedure of selection. Accordingly, she joined at MPL Girls High School, Military line, Berhampur. The said School was managed by the Berhampur Municipal Council and from time to time the remuneration was enhanced and the services of the Petitioner was treated as remunerative Teacher by getting remuneration of Rs.2000/- per month without getting any increment, regular scale of pay and other consequential benefit at par with the other teachers of Municipality.

3. While the Petitioner was continuing as such in the year 2001, the Executive Officer, Berhampur Municipality vide its letter No.10906 dated 08.10.2001 has informed the Director, Municipal Administration and Additional Secretary to Government, Housing and Urban Development Department, Orissa, Bhubaneswar regarding the vacancy position which were available and required to be filled up by obtaining concurrence of the Finance Department for smooth running of Schools. As can be seen, on a bare perusal of the said letter, 182 numbers of teaching posts were sanctioned by the Government for nine High Schools and two M.E. Schools run by Berhampur Municipality and out of which there were 93 regular vacancies in which 61 remunerative teachers and five ad hoc teachers were appointed by Municipal Council.

4. The position of the Petitioner was within the list of 61 numbers of remunerative teachers. While the Petitioner was serving as such, some of the remunerative teachers who were serving under the Berhampur Municipality had filed a Writ Petition bearing O.J.C. No.2230 of 2002 before this Court challenging the gradation list prepared by the Berhampur Municipality. In the said Writ Petition, this Court had directed the Berhampur Municipal Council to prepare a gradation list according to their date of joining. Accordingly, the Municipality prepared a gradation list of teachers serving in different High Schools under the control of Berhampur Municipality. In the said gradation list the name of the present Petitioner found place at serial No.21.

5. The Petitioner continued at the post of Assistant Teacher till the year 2004. The Housing and Urban Development Department vide Resolution dated 28.02.2004 had declared the service condition of the teachers working in different Urban Local Bodies such as 65 Lower Secondary (M.E.) and 82 Secondary/High Schools by transferring them to the administrative control of School and Mass Education Department by declaring and treating them as Government employee with effect from 28.02.2004. In the said resolution the Government had decided the service condition of the Urban Local Bodies and it was further mentioned that the non-regular teaching staff 220 in number and non-teaching staff of 87 in number working in those Schools as on the date of takeover are also declared as Government servant.

6. While the matter stood thus, the School and Mass Education Department in order to implement the Resolution dated 28.02.2004 with respect to the services of 220 numbers of Non-regular teachers has issued a letter vide No.22298 dated 10.12.2010 in which they have regularized the services of some of the Non-regular teaching staff and on the same day issued another order vide No.22313 dated 10.12.2010 in which they have created 104 numbers of contractual posts for absorption of non- regular teachers and non-teaching staffs on contractual basis. The Opposite Part