Prior approval is required before issuance of any appointment letter, but not for initiating the selection process.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Om Prakash Mani Tripathi, learned Counsel for the petitioner and Sri Savitra Vardhan Singh, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel.

2. The present petition has been filed challenging the order dated 07.07.2021 passed by the Director, Secondary Education, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow whereby the request of the petitioner's institution for granting approval to the selection made on Class-III post has been rejected as well as the order dated 07.10.2021 passed on similar grounds by the respondent no.2.

3. The averments in brief are that the petitioner Society is running an institution in the name of Sohan Lal Balika Inter College and is managing the affairs of the institution. On 31.07.2020, the regular clerk posted in the institution was retired, as a result whereof, a vacancy accrued on 01.08.2020.

4. As the institution was suffering on account of the vacancy, a request was made on 07.08.2020 to the Director, Secondary Education through the District Inspector of Schools informing that the clerk working in the institution has retired and one post of clerk sanctioned for the College is laying vacant since 01.08.2020, as such, permission may be granted to fill up the vacant post through direct recruitment. Thereafter, the District Inspector of Schools communicated the request of the petitioner to the Director, Secondary Education giving reference to the request made by the petitioner. The said letter is contained in Annexure-3 to the writ petition.

5. It is stated that despite the request, no orders were being passed, as such, the petitioner approached this Court by filing a Writ Petition No.21223 (MS) of 2020 seeking a direction upon the respondents to decide the application of the petitioner for making the selection. The said writ petition was disposed off vide order dated 19.11.2020 directing the respondent no.2 therein to consider and decide the application of the petitioner by speaking order within six weeks. It is argued that despite the said directions, no decision was taken within six weeks, as such, the Managing Committee once again sent a reminder on 30.01.2021 with a request to take a decision.

6. As no decision was being taken despite the directions, the Committee of Management constituted a Committee for selection of a candidate to the post of Junior Clerk and issued an advertisement in the newspaper, namely Swatantra Chetna on 05.02.2021 (Annexure-7). The Committee took interview of the eligible candidates and on the basis of the quality points selected one Mr. Vibhanshu Maurya for being appointed on the Class-III posts. A resolution to that effect was passed on 29.04.2021. The process of selection was intimated to the District Inspector of School-II, Lucknow on 27.05.2021, however, it is stated that he refused to accept the documents, as such, the same was sent through registered post which was received back with the remark "refused to receive".

7. As no action was being taken for approval of the selection made by the Committee, another writ petition was filed by the petitioner being Writ Petition No.13593 (MS) of 2021 which was disposed off vide order dated 06.07.2021 by this Court directing the respondents to take a decision within a period of one months. However, on the very next day, an order came to be passed which is contained as Annexure-1 to the writ petition, stating that the said order was being passed in compliance of the earlier directions given by this Court vide order dated 19.11.2020. By means of the said order which is impugned in the writ petition, the Director, Secondary Education proceeded to reject the request of the petitioner on various grounds.

8. A perusal of the order impugned (Annexure-1) reveals that the District Inspector of Schools found that two posts were vacant in Class-III category (The Counsel for the petitioner states that the same has been wrongly recorded and was rightly held to be one post in the subsequent order dated 07.10.2021 which is also impugned). The order fu