Shani Norbert v. State of Kerala and others

# **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** ## **PRESENT** ## **THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN** # **FRIDAY, THE 16[TH] DAY OF JULY 2021 / 25TH ASHADHA, 1943 WP(C) NO. 21728 OF 2014** ## **PETITIONER:** **SHANI NORBERT, SEWING TEACHER, SREE AYYANKALI SMARAKA UP SCHOOL, VENGANOOR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT.** **BY ADVS. SRI.V.A.MUHAMMED SRI.M.SAJJAD** **SMT.P.A.JENZIA** ## **RESPONDENTS:** - **1 THE STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, GENERAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001.** - **2 THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTIONS JAGATHY, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 014.** - **3 THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 014.** - **4 THE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER NEYYATTINKARA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 121.** - **5 THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER BALARAMAPURAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 501.** - **6 THE MANAGER, SREE AYYANKALI SMARAKA UP SCHOOL, VENGANOOR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 523.** WPC 21728/14 2 **SRI. P.M.MANOJ - SR.GP** **THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 16.07.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:** WPC 21728/14 3 ## **JUDGMENT** The petitioner is stated to be working as a Sewing Teacher in 'Ayyankali Smaraka U.P. School', Venganoor, Thiruvananthapuram, and says that she was initially appointed on 05.06.2006. She asserts that her appointment was not approved solely because the post to which she was accommodated had not been sanctioned on account of a ban in force at the relevant time; but that, subsequently, Government brought out GO(P)No.10/10/G.Edn. dated 12.01.2010, lifting the ban and consequently, that the staff fixation orders for the year 2006-07 was liable to be revised and the post of Sewing Teacher sanctioned. 2. The petitioner specifically says that the Manager executed a bond in terms of GO(P)No.10/10/G.Edn. dated 12.01.2010 and resultantly she ought to have been granted approval; but alleges that the competent Authorities, through the impugned order, rejected WPC 21728/14 4 it saying that since the school is a 'newly opened one', the Manager could have appointed only a Protected Teacher. 3. The petitioner contends that the above stand of the Educational Authorities in the impugned order is wholly improper, since no list of Protected Teachers had, at any time, been forwarded by the Authorities to the Manager of the School and therefore, that her case is covered by the judgments of this Court in **Nadeera v State** (2011 (3) KLT 790) and **Moosakutty v. District Educational Officer** (2009 (3) KLT 863). 4. The petitioner adds that, in spite of this, her approval has been granted only with effect from the year 2011, when the Manager appointed a Protected Teacher. She, therefore, prays that the impugned order, namely Ext.P7, be set aside and the competent educational Authorities be directed to grant her approval as Sewing Teacher with effect from 05.06.2006. 5. I have heard Smt.P.A.Jenzia – learned WPC 21728/14 5 counsel for the petitioner and Sri.P.M.Manoj – learned Senior Government Pleader for the official respondents. 6. Sri.P.M.Manoj – learned Senior Government Pleader, submitted that the petitioner's case against Ext.P7 cannot be found valid because, as has been stated therein, there were two objections against her approval. He submitted that, for the first, the Manager had executed the bond in terms of GO(P)No.10/10/G.Edn. dated 12.01.2010 only in the year 2011 and the petitioner had thus been granted approval from that day; and that, for the second, she could not have been appointed in the year 2006, since the Manager was obligated to appoint a Protected Teacher to the available vacancy on account of the fact that the school was a 'newly upgraded one'. He, therefore, prayed that this Writ Petition be dismissed. 7. Smt.P.A.Jenzia replied to the afore by reiterating that none of the afore reasons could have stood against the petitioner because the WPC 21728/14 6 Manager executed the bond on 23.04.2010, and that, in any event of the matter, as long as no list of Protected Teachers had been furnished to him by the educational Authorities, the rigour of the Government Order cannot apply. 8. I find substantial force in the submissions of Smt.P.A.Jenzia because, as evidenced from Exts.P8 and P9 judgments of this Court, it is up to the Authorities of the Educational Department to have deemed that the Manager had executed a bond in terms of GO(P)No.10/10/G.Edn. dated 12.01.2010, but this has not been done in this case. Further, even though the school is a 'newly upgraded one', the fact that the competent educational Authorities did not favour the Manager with a list of Protected Teachers being not contested, I do not think that petitioner can be put to prejudice and she is certainly bolstered by the declarations of law in **Moosakutty** (supra) and **Nadeera** (supra). 9. In fact, there can be no doubt about this WPC 21728/14 7 because, in Ext.P7, Government has no case that any such list had been forwarded to the Manager by the educational Authorities at any point of time. In the afore circumstances, I allow this Writ Petition and set aside Ext.P7; with a consequential direction to the Government to reconsider the grant of approval to the petitioner, adverting to my observations above, as also Exts.P8 and P9, along with **Moosakutty** (supra) and **Nadeera** (supra) and after affording an opportunity of being heard to the petitioner – either physically or through video conferencing – thus culminating in an appropriate order thereon as expeditiously as is possible, but not later than three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. **Sd/-** RR **DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN JUDGE** WPC 21728/14 8 ## APPENDIX OF WP(C) 21728/2014 PETITIONER EXHIBITS P1 : COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT ORDER OF THE PETITIONER DTD.5.6.2006. P2 : COPY OF THE JOINING REPORT OF SMT.L.JAYA DTD.23.3.2011. P3 : COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER 2006-07 DTD.11.11.2007. P4 : COPY OF THE GO(RT)NO.984/2008/G.EDN. DTD.23.2.2008 OF THE GOVERNMENT. P5 : COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE 2ND RESPONDENT DTD.10.2.2012. P6 : COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER DTD.13.3.2012. P7 : COPY OF THE GO(RT)NO.114/2014/G.EDN. DTD.7.1.2014 OF THE GOVERNMENT. P8 : TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN WA NO.2290/2015 DATED 25.07.2017. P9 : TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN WA NO.2091/2018 DATED 28.06.2019