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NON-REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4772 OF 2018

[@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 3775 OF 2018] NABA PARJAY WEST BENGAL PRIMARY  ORGANIZER TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION APPELLANT(s)

                               VERSUS THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS RESPONDENT(S)

WITH CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4773 OF 2018

[@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 5401 OF 2018] WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4774 OF 2018 [@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 5485 OF 2018]

WITH CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4775 OF 2018

[@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 6715 OF 2018] WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4776 OF 2018 [@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 11718 OF 2018]

[DIARY NO.9802 OF 2018]  WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4777 OF 2018 [@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 11732 OF 2018]

[DIARY NO. 9979 OF 2018 WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4778 OF 2018 [@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 11738 OF 2018]

[DIARY NO. 9988 OF 2018]

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J U D G M E N T

KURIAN, J. 1. Delay condoned.  Leave granted.

2. The issue raised in these appeals pertains to the claim for appointment as Primary Teachers.  The basis  of  the  claim  is  that  they  had  worked  as Organising  Teachers  some  time  in  the  past.   The learned counsel appearing for the West Bengal Board of Primary Education and the State submit that in the case of many of the claimants, except that they belong  to  some  organisation,  no  particulars whatsoever have been furnished regarding their past service  as  Organising  Teachers.   That  apart,  no information  even  regarding  their  address,  age, educational  qualification,  school  etc.  have  been furnished.

3. Though this Court had passed several orders, we need to refer to only three orders, namely, orders dated 16.04.2015, 28.01.2016 and 06.10.2016.

4. The order dated 16.04.2015 reads as follows :- “The  applicants  shall  give  the  following details  along  with  an  affidavit,  with regard to the organizer teachers who claim right to be appointed as primary teachers

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in pursuance of order passed by this Court dated 2nd February, 2011, in SLP(C)No.15253 of 2006 and connected matter. 1. The name and address of the organizer teacher and the date on which he became the member of the Association concerned before the High Court. 2.  Number  of  the  petition  wherein association was the petitioner.  3. Date of birth of the teacher concerned. 4.  The  school  in  which  he  worked  as  an organizer teacher and the period of work. 5.  The  evidence  to  show  that  the  said teacher  had  become  member  of  the Association before the petition was filed in the High Court.

The afore-stated details shall be furnished by the learned counsel for the applicant to the learned counsel appearing for the State of West Bengal Board of Primary Education within two weeks from today.   

The  information  provided  by  the  learned counsel for the applicant shall be verified by Respondent-Board and they shall file its response within two weeks thereafter.  

List the matters on 12th May, 2015, at 3.00 p.m. as Part-heard.”  

5. The order dated 28.01.2016 reads as follows :- “The  case  has  peculiar  facts  and circumstances.

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In  pursuance  of  order  dated  2nd December, 2015,  the  Verification  Committee  has verified  the  details  with  regard  to  1257 Organizing  Teachers  and  has  come  to  its final  conclusion  that  out  of  1257,  203 Organizing  Teachers,  who  were  parties  in the  petitions  filed  before  the  Calcutta High Court, are below the age of 60 years as on today and they are also qualified to become teachers as per Rules which were in force as on 14th September, 1995. Names of those  203  Organizing  Teachers  have  been given in the list at Annexure R-6 to the Report  of  the  Verification  Committee constituted in terms of the order dated 2nd

December, 2015. The Report has been handed over to us in Court today, which is taken on record.  The said Organizing Teachers shall submit relevant documents concerning their age and their  qualification,  to  the  Verification Committee within four weeks from today and after verification thereof in presence of the  concerned  Organizing  Teachers,  the Verification  Committee  shall  come  to  a final conclusion with regard to veracity of the  certificates  and  thereafter  shall recommend  the  names  of  the  qualifying Organized Teachers to the State within four weeks thereafter. Upon receipt of the said list, the State shall give appointment to the persons recommended by the Verification Committee within four weeks from the date of receipt of the list.

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It  has  been  submitted  by  the  learned counsel  appearing  for  some  of  the Organizing Teachers, who are not within the list of afore-stated 203 persons, that they are  also  eligible  for  appointment  but because  of  some  mistake  their  names  have not been included in the list.  

If it is so, it would be open to them to approach the Verification Committee on or before 29th February, 2016, so as to show that  they  are  duly  qualified  as  other Organizing Teachers as per Rules in force as  on  14th September,  1995  and  they  are below the age of 60 years as on today. We are  sure  that  as  and  when  such  an application  is  made,  the  Verification Committee  will  look  into  their  grievance and  take  appropriate  action  as  soon  as possible,  preferably  within  six  weeks thereafter.

So  far  as  other  5616  Organizing  Teachers (as per the list furnished by Mr. Amarjit Singh Bedi, the learned counsel), who claim to be parties before the High Court in Writ Petition No.15632 of 1998, are concerned, it  has  been  submitted  that  all  relevant details with regard to their qualification and  age,  details  of  which  are  to  be examined  by  the  Verification  Committee, have  already  been  given  to  the  learned counsel appearing for the respondent-State. The verification details shall be put in a

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tabular  form,  as  per  order  dated  2nd

December, 2015.

The  afore-said  material  shall  be  placed before this Court within eight weeks from today.   List these matters on 7th April, 2016, at 2.00 p.m.”  

6. The order dated 06.10.2016 reads as follows :- “We have heard the learned counsel for the parties  at  length.  Upon  hearing  the concerned counsel and upon perusal of the relevant  record  and  the  orders  passed  by this Court from time to time, we had passed the following order on 28th January, 2016 :

“In pursuance of order dated 2nd

December, 2015, the Verification Committee  has  verified  the details  with  regard  to  1257 Organizing Teachers and has come to its final conclusion that out of  1257,  203  Organizing Teachers,  who  were  parties  in the  petitions  filed  before  the Calcutta  High  Court,  are  below the age of 60 years as on today and they are also qualified to become  teachers  as  per  Rules which  were in  force as  on 14th

September, 1995. Names of those 203  Organizing  Teachers  have been  given  in  the  list  at Annexure  R-6  to  the  Report  of

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the  Verification  Committee constituted  in  terms  of  the order  dated  2nd December,  2015. The Report has been handed over to us in Court today, which is taken on record. The  said  Organizing  Teachers shall submit relevant documents concerning  their  age  and  their qualification,  to  the Verification  Committee  within four weeks from today and after verification thereof in presence of  the  concerned  Organizing Teachers,  the  Verification Committee shall come to a final conclusion  with  regard  to veracity of the certificates and thereafter  shall  recommend  the names  of  the  qualifying Organized Teachers to the State within  four  weeks  thereafter. Upon receipt of the said list, the State shall give appointment to  the  persons  recommended  by the  Verification  Committee within four weeks from the date of receipt of the list.”

We  direct  that  the  173  candidates,  as referred  to  in  our  order  dated  28.1.2016 passed  in  I.A.Nos.2  &  3  of  2015  in I.A.No.13/2013  in  SLP(C)  No.15253/2006, shall be appointed as Primary Teachers with effect from 1.10.2016 and their appointment

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letters shall be given to them before 31st

October, 2016.

In  our  order  dated  28.1.2016,  we  had observed that:

“It  has  been  submitted  by  the learned  counsel  appearing  for some of the Organizing Teachers, who are not within the list of afore-stated  203  persons,  that they  are  also  eligible  for appointment but because of some mistake  their  names  have  not been included in the list.  

If it is so, it would be open to them  to  approach  the Verification  Committee  on  or before 29th February, 2016, so as to  show  that  they  are  duly qualified  as  other  Organizing Teachers as per Rules in force as  on  14th September,  1995  and they  are  below  the  age  of  60 years as on today. We are sure that  as  and  when  such  an application  is  made,  the Verification Committee will look into  their  grievance  and  take appropriate  action  as  soon  as possible, preferably within six weeks thereafter.

So far as other 5616 Organizing Teachers  (as  per  the  list

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furnished by Mr. Amarjit Singh Bedi, the learned counsel), who claim to be parties before the High  Court  in  Writ  Petition No.15632 of 1998, are concerned, it has been submitted that all relevant details with regard to their  qualification  and  age, details  of  which  are  to  be examined  by  the  Verification Committee,  have  already  been given  to  the  learned  counsel appearing  for  the  respondent- State. The verification details shall be put in a tabular form, as per order dated 2nd  December, 2015.”

As  far  as  the  aforesaid  observations  are concerned,  the  details,  which  must  have been  prepared  by  the  Verification Committee,  shall  be  placed  in  a  tabular form  and  shall  be  placed  before  the Calcutta High Court. We are sure the High Court shall look into the same and pass an appropriate  order  in  pursuance  of  the directions given as afore-stated as well as other orders passed by this Court.  If the afore-stated exercise has not been done so far, the same shall be finished as soon  as  possible,  preferably  before  31st

October, 2016. If any matter with regard to similar petition on the subject matter of this litigation is pending before the High Court, it would be open to the High Court

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to decide the same in accordance with law on its merits and after taking into account all the orders passed by this Court from time  to time.  We are  sure that  the High Court  will  look  into  such  matter/matters and  dispose  of  the  same  as  soon  as possible,  preferably  before  31st January, 2017.

All  pending  matters  on  the  subject  with this Court shall be transmitted to the High Court as soon as possible along with copies of all orders passed so that the High Court can do the needful.  We request the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the Calcutta  High  Court  to  place  all  these matters before a Division Bench so that a final  decision  can  be  taken  by  the  High Court  and  further  time,  with  regard  to filing of appeal/appeals can be avoided.

All  the  applications  are  disposed  of  as they have been transmitted to the Calcutta High Court and the contempt petition stands discharged.  We clarify that this order has been passed in  the  peculiar  facts  of  these  matters, therefore, this order shall not be treated as a precedent.”

7. It is the case of the appellants that despite the directions issued by this Court, no verification whatsoever  has  been  conducted  in  their  cases. However, it is the stand of the Board and the State

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that no information whatsoever had been furnished so as to enable the Committee to verify the records.

8. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the appellants and the learned counsel appearing for the Board and the State of West Bengal, we are of the view that there is no point in continuing the litigations before this Court.  The only dispute is with regard to verification.  In view of the serious dispute on verification, we are of the view that the remaining grievance regarding verification should be independently  looked  into  by  an  appropriate authority.   We  direct  the  Secretary  to  the  West Bengal State Legal Services Authority to verify the remaining grievance of the appellants herein and the intervenors/impleading applicants as on 25.04.2018. It will be open to him to adopt any method for the verification.

9. The Secretary to the West Bengal Legal Services Authority, after notice to the West Bengal Board of Primary  Education,  will  complete  the  verification process  in  respect  of  the  appellants  and  the intervenors/impleading applicants before this Court as  on  25.04.2018  and  submit  a  report  to  the Secretary to the Government, Education Department.

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This process shall be completed within four months from today.  The Secretary to Government will take the required action for appointment, if any, within another one month.

10. No Court shall entertain any further challenge on the report thus submitted by the Secretary to the West Bengal Legal Service Authority and there shall be no further dispute in this regard. The Secretary is  also  directed  not  to  entertain  any  fresh applications  or  fresh  record.   We  direct  the Registry of this Court to forward the records as on 25.04.2018 to the Secretary to the West Bengal Legal Services Authority within ten days from today.

11. If any candidates have been duped by anybody, it is for them to take recourse to appropriate legal remedies.

12. In view of the above, these appeals are disposed of.

.......................J.               [ KURIAN JOSEPH ]  

.......................J.               [ MOHAN M. SHANTANAGOUDAR ]  

New Delhi; May 03, 2018.

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ITEM NO.4               COURT NO.5               SECTION XVI                S U P R E M E  C O U R T  O F  I N D I A                        RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C)  No(s).  3775/2018 (Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated  08-12-2017 in CAN No. 12020/2016 passed by the High Court At Calcutta) NABA PARJAY WEST BENGAL PRIMARY  ORGANIZER TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION Appellant (s)                                 VERSUS THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS Respondent(s) (FOR ADMISSION and I.R. and IA No.17899/2018-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No.21816/2018-PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS)   WITH SLP(C) No. 6715/2018 (XVI) (FOR ADMISSION and I.R. and IA No.36388/2018-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No.36390/2018-PERMISSION TO FILE LENGTHY LIST OF DATES) SLP(C) No. 5485/2018 (XVI) (FOR ADMISSION and I.R. and IA No.27799/2018-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No.28799/2018-PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS) SLP(C) No. 5401/2018 (XVI) (FOR ADMISSION and I.R. and IA No.27320/2018-EXEMPTION FROM FILING  C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT) Diary No(s). 9802/2018 (XVI) (FOR ADMISSION and I.R. and IA No.50513/2018-CONDONATION OF DELAY IN FILING and IA No.50515/2018-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No.50512/2018-PERMISSION TO FILE SLP/TP)   Diary No(s). 9988/2018 (XVI)  Diary No(s). 9979/2018 (XVI) (FOR ADMISSION and I.R. and IA No.48605/2018-CONDONATION OF DELAY IN FILING and IA No.48606/2018-EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT)   Date : 03-05-2018 These matters were called on for hearing today.

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CORAM :  HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KURIAN JOSEPH          HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MOHAN M. SHANTANAGOUDAR For Petitioner(s) Mr. A. K. Ganguly, Sr. Adv.  

Mr. D. K. Mishra, Adv.  Mr. Anindo Mukherjee, Adv.  Mr. Anip Sachthey, Adv.  Ms. Narmada, Adv.  Mr. Chanchal Kumar Ganguly, Adv.  Ms. Nishika Tyagi, Adv.  Mr. Santi Ranjan Das, Adv.  Mrs. Sarla Chandra, AOR Mr. Jaideep Gupta, Sr. Adv.  Mr. Kunal Chatterjee, Adv.  Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv.  Mr. Saurav Gupta, Adv.  Mr. Asoke Kumar Banerjee, Sr. Adv.  Ms. Nandini Sen Mukherjee, AOR Ms. Madhumita Bhattacharjee, AOR Mr. Soumik Ghosal, AOR

         UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following                              O R D E R

Leave granted.  The  appeals  are  disposed  of  in  terms  of  the  signed

non-reportable Judgment.   Pending Interlocutory Applications, if any, stand disposed of.

(JAYANT KUMAR ARORA)                              (RENU DIWAN)    COURT MASTER                                ASSISTANT REGISTRAR

(Signed non-reportable Judgment is placed on the file)