Post Of Primary School Teacher Is Civil Post; Only Administrative Tribunal Has Jurisdiction To Deal With Issues Pertaining To Selection- Karnataka HC
A Karnataka High Court Bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice MGS Kamal has observed that the post of a primary school teacher is a "civil post", and only the Administrative Tribunal has the jurisdiction to deal with issues pertaining to it, and not the High Court.
In that context, it was held that, "Section 15 of the Act, 1985 provides for exclusive jurisdiction of the Administrative Tribunal in relation to recruitment and matter concerning recruitment to any civil service or the State or to any civil post under the State. In other words the matters involving recruitment or matter concerning recruitment are to be dealt with adjudicated and determined by the Administrative Tribunal in terms of Section 15 of the Act, 1985."
Senior Advocate V Lakshminarayana appeared for the appellants, while Additional Advocate General Vikram Huilgol, among others, appeared for the respondents.
This case revolved around a 2022, a notification inviting applications for the recruitment of Graduate Primary School Teachers in government and aided institutions in Karnataka. Competitive exams took place in May, and the results were announced in August. A provisional list of selected candidates was published in November. Some petitioners challenged their exclusion from this list, alleging that their names were left out despite meeting the eligibility criteria for various reserved categories.
Their primary contention was related to the interpretation of caste and income certificates. The Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) had, during the verification process, rejected some certificates issued in the name of the petitioners' fathers instead of their husbands. This had led to the petitioners being placed in the General Merit category rather than their respective reserved categories.
The matter went before the High Court, and the learned Single Judge ruled in favor of the petitioners. They argued that the DDPI lacked jurisdiction to interpret caste and income certificates. The Judge also held that only the husband's income should be considered for married female candidates rather than that of their parents. However, the subsequent selection process was re-evaluated based on these directions and the relevant government orders, and a new final selection list was published in March 2023, accommodating the changes.
The Court noted that in light of the undisputed material facts, it was revealed that the primary school teacher post of which recruitment is sought is a 'civil post' governed by the Karnataka Education Department Services(Department of Public Instruction) (Recruitment) Rules, 1967 and Amendment Rules, 2017. In light of the same, it was observed that, "the said post being civil post under the State is governed under the Rules framed under Sub-Section (1) of Section 3 read with Section 8 of the Karnataka Civil Services Act, 1978."
Subsequently, it was stressed that the matters involving recruitment or matter concerning recruitment are to be dealt with adjudicated and determined by the Administrative Tribunal in terms of Section 15 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. In the same vein, it was further observed that Section 28 of the Act, 1985 excludes the jurisdiction of all courts except the Supreme Court under Article 136 of the Constitution of India and the Labour Courts and other authorities under the Industrial Disputes Act.
Therefore, it was held that, "applicable provisions of law and the judgments of the Apex Court it is clear that in the matters of recruitment process, it is the Tribunal under the Act, 1985 which is the court of first instance and the role of Division Bench of the High Court within whose jurisdiction the Tribunal is situated is only in exercise of and judicial review under Article 226/227 of constitution of India."
Consequently, it was held that the issue required consideration in a properly constituted petition before the Administrative Tribunal. The petitions were partly allowed.
Cause Title: Narendra Babu GV & Ors. vs The State of Karnataka
