A. Dharmaraj v. The Chief Educational Officer, Pudukkottai & Ors.
This appeal is preferred due to the dissatisfaction with the judgment passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Madras at Madurai in Writ Appeal, setting aside the promotion of appellate to the post of B.T. Assistant.
Facts:
On August 6, 2016, the appellant received a promotion to the position of B.T. Assistant (English). The appellant had previously been given permission to complete his B.A. (English) through distance learning from January 2012 to December 2014. The appellant was given permission to pursue an M.A. (Tamil) between the academic years 2013–2015 while studying a B.A. (English). He successfully appeared in the examination and completed his M.A. (Tamil). The respondent challenged the promotion of the appellant. The petition was allowed, and the Single Judge set aside the promotion of the appellant.
Appellant’s Contention:
Shri P.S. Sridharraj appeared on behalf of the appellant. Rule 14 mentions that teachers who simultaneously earned their B.A., B.Sc., and B.Ed. during the same academic year are not eligible for any promotion. In the present case, it cannot be said that the appellant obtained B.A. (English) and M.A. (Tamil) during the same academic year. He pursued his M.A. (Tamil), a two-year distance education program, from 2013 to 2015. He also pursued his B.A. (English) from January 2012 to December 2014. Therefore, Rule 14 is not applicable to this case on hand stricto senso. The degree of M.A. (Tamil) cannot be equated with B.A./B.Sc./B.Ed. It was prayed to allow the appeal and the promotion.
Respondent’s Contention:
Shri C. Solomon appeared on behalf of the respondent. The respondent challenged the promotion of the appellant on the ground that by obtaining two degrees simultaneously the appellant has rendered himself ineligible as the appellant did not fulfil the eligibility criteria. Rule 14, which stated that “professors who received their B.A./B.Sc. and B.Ed. in the same academic year were not eligible for recommendations” must be pressed into service. The appeal was prayed to be rejected. It was prayed to quash the appeal.
Observation:
M.A. (Tamil) obtained by the appellant is ignored, in that case, considering his degree in B.A. (English) he could have been promoted to the post of B.T. Assistant (English). There is no dispute that the B.A. (English) degree satisfied the requirements for the promotion.
Judgment:
For the reason stated above, the appeal succeeds. The ruling made in the aforementioned petition is set aside. The writ petition before the learned Single Judge is dismissed, and the appellant was promoted to the position of B.T. Assistant (English) on August 6, 2016, as per the order. The said appeal is allowed.
Name: Harishri S
Course: BBA LLB(Hons.)
College: SASTRA Deemed to be University