Advocates:
['ALTAF HUSSAIN', '', 'AFAQUE AHMAD', 'RAMIT SATENDER', 'S C', '', 'SANJAY KUMAR PANDEY', 'ANJANA KUMARI', 'M M PAN', 'T K MISRA']

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W. P. (S) No.

6100 of 2003

(In the matter of an application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India)

…

1. Smt. Kiran Kumari

2. Raj Kumar Singh

3. Kishore Kumar

4. Parmeshwar Sao

5. Jawahar Prasad

6. Kaushal Kishore Chaubey

…

…

Petitioners

-V e r s u s-

The State of Jharkhand & Ors.

…

...

Respondents

…

For the Petitioners

: - M/s Afaque Ahmad & Shadab Bin Haque

For the Respondent-State

: -Mr. Sunil Singh, JC to SC-II

For the Private Respondents :- None.

.....

PRESENT

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE APARESH KUMAR SINGH

…

By Court

Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and the State.

The private respondents have not appeared in the matter on the

earlier date and today also, no one has appeared on behalf of

the private respondents.

The issue involved in the present writ petition raised on

behalf of the petitioners, who are Assistant Teachers in

Government Basic School is that qualification of Sahityalankar/

Visharad should not be treated equivalent to Bachelor in Arts

Degree i.e. Graduation for the purposes of promotion of

Teachers on the post of Headmaster of Basic School, Lecturer in

Primary Teacher's Training College, Block Education Extension

Officer, which belongs to Subordinate Education Service.

The petitioners are aggrieved by letter bearing 6063 dated

03.11.2003 issued by the Department of Personnel,

Administrative Reforms & Rajbhasa, Government of Jharkhand

whereby the order bearing no. 541 dated 11.01.1991 issued by

the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms,

Government of Bihar was made applicable to the State of

Jharkhand as well whereunder the qualification of

Sahityalankar from the Hindi Vidyapeeth, Deoghar, has been

treated equivalent to Bachelor in Arts Degree.

After hearing the learned counsel for the parties on a

previous occasion on 06.03.2014, the following order was

passed:-

“These petitioners are Assistant Teachers in Government

Basic School in various district of the State of Jharkhand.

They have challenged the Letter No.6063 dated 3.11.2003

issued by the Department of Personnel, Administrative

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Reforms and Raj Bhasa, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi,

who has adopted the order as contained in Memo No.541

dated 11.1.1991 issued by the Department of Personnel and

Administrative Reforms , Government of Bihar, whereunder

the qualification of Sahityalankar from the Hindi Vidyapith,

Deoghar has been treated to be equivalent to Bachelor of

Arts degree.

The background for the petitioners to make such a

challenge is on account of the fact that certain assistant

teachers of the basic schools, who have obtained

qualification of Sahityalankar, have been treated to be

graduate for the purpose of promotion to the Subordinate

Eduction Service under the respondent State. Some of the

persons, who have been promoted as such, have also been

impleaded as party respondent in the present writ petition

subsequently by challenging their order of promotion in

I.A.No.2074/2005. When the matter has been taken up,

learned counsel for the petitioners has brought to the notice

of the Court the judgment rendered by the Patna High

Court in the Case of Reeta Srivastava and others Vs. State

of Bihar along with other analogous cases decided on

7.5.2012 and reported in 2012(3) PLJR 353, as per which, it

has been held that Sahityalankar degree is not equivalent to

graduation and no holder of said degree can claim the

benefit of promotion to the Subordinate Education Service

as a matter of right. Recognition, if at all given by the State

to such a degree is with a limited object for the purpose of

qualifying any Hindi examination and drawing advantage

thereof in service and not to beget appointment based on

the eligibility laid down for such recruitment or promotion

by treating such a degree to have equivalence.

Counsel