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“Why should personal responsibility of the State officers not be fixed?,” the Allahabad High Court has asked the state officials of Department of Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh, in a matter pertaining to breach of court's earlier directions on the appointment of teachers in the state’s Sanskrit Degree colleges.

The Bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra has also directed the Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Higher Education to clarify as to how the state proposes to proceed in compliance with these earlier directions, issued through a detailed judgment on March 30, 2019. 

The court was hearing a petition challenging dismissal of the petitioners' appointment in a degree college affiliated to the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University of Varanasi. 

The court has directed the District Inspector of Schools to revisit the matter relating to grant of financial approval to the petitioner's appointment and pass necessary orders keeping in view the Court's earlier order.

Issuing the aforesaid directions, the bench also noted,

"The plight of Sanskrit Institutions as also the teachers appointed therein, however, continues to face the utmost neglect inasmuch as neither any procedure consistent with laws has yet been evolved, nor the appointments already made are being given effect to by the State."

The Petitioner's appointment had been dismissed on the ground that the appointment in Degree Colleges affiliated to Sampurnanand Sanskrit University can be made only by the U.P. Higher Education Service Commission, Allahabad.

The court traced back that a bunch of writ petitions had come to the Court with the grievance of non-appointment of teachers in Sanskrit Degree Colleges affiliated to Sampurnanand Sanskrit University,  which were allowed by a detailed judgment on March 30, 2019. 

In that order, the court had directed the state government to allow recruitment of teachers in colleges affiliated to Sanskrit University as per the provisions of the First Statutes of the Sanskrit University in terms of the Executive Council's decision.

The Court had also said that teachers appointed in the colleges affiliated to Sanskrit University, after obtaining permission from the concerned District Inspector of Schools and approval of the Vice-Chancellor, shall be entitled to payment of salary as per the grade of pay prescribed by the government. 

The court had further directed that requisite orders in terms of the abovesaid directions had to be issued by the authorities at the competent level within a period of six weeks of that order.

However, the state filed a Special Appeal before the High Court against the aforesaid judgment which got dismissed, after which the state preferred a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court as well, which was also dismissed on August 24.

Noting thus, the High Court observed that notwithstanding the finality of the judgment delivered by it, it appeared that the state was still not permitting appointments to be made in the concerned colleges.

It stated that the instant petition reflected how the State and their officers are sitting in appeal over the judgments passed by the High Court which had otherwise attained finality up to the Supreme Court.

Therefore, noting that Government Orders issued from time to time during pendency of the dispute either before this Court or the Supreme Court, had lost their efficacy once High Court's judgment got affirmed by the Supreme Court, the High Court issued the present directions. 

However, the court clarified that it had not adjudicated the petitioners' appointment on merits and the question as to whether anyone else has been appointed against the vacant posts has been kept open, to be examined by the Inspector, at the first instance.

The matter is listed to be next heard on November 8.

Cause Title: Ratnesh Kumar Tripathi and Anr. v. State Of U.P. And 5 Others