IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.6101 of 2002 1. Ram Bahadur Sah, Son of late Bhola Sah, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, shisawa, Anchal Sonbarsa, District Saharsa. 2. Rajkumar Shah, Son of late Mangan Shah, Assistant Teacher in Middle School, Bhagwanpur, Anchal Barwa Itahari, District Saharsa. 3. Deep Narain Yadav, Son of late Parmeshwari Yadav, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, chandaur, Anchal Saur Bazar, District Saharsa. 4. Ashok Kumar Gupta, Son of late Chilmil Shah, (Head Master) in Primary School, Harijan Colony (Sonpura), Anchal Simri Bakhtiarpur, District Saharsa. 5. Neelam Kumari, Wife of Sri Kali Paswan, Headmaster in Primary School, Paras Tola, Anchal Saur Bazar, District Saharsa. 6. Abdul Mustafa, Son of late Md. Haslim Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Ranibagh, Anchal Simri Bakhtiarpur, District Saharsa. 7. Ram Swaroop Chaudhary, Son of late Asarfi Chaudhary, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, bariarpur, Anchal Simri Bakhtiarpur, District Saharsa. 8. Veena Kumari, Wife of Mahendra Ram, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Bachhaur, Anchal Sonbarsa, District Saharsa. 9. Basudeo Singh, Son of late Kameshwar Singh, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Amba Dih, Anchal Bamma Itahari, District Saharsa. 10. Bandana Jha, D/o late Rameshwar Jha, Headmaster in Primary School, Kahara (South) Tola, Anchal Kahara, District Saharsa. 11. Sangita Rajak, Wife of Ramanand Rajak, Headmaster in Primary School, Siswa, Anchal Sonbarsa, District Saharsa. 12. Indrabhaga Kumari, Wife of Sri Prakash Chandra Khan, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Kahara (South) Tola, Saharsa, District Saharsa. 13. Govind Kumar, Son of late Rajeshwar Mishra, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Navtolia, Anchal Banna Itahari, District Saharsa. 14. Dinanath Thakur, Son of late Chiranjiv Thakur, Headmaster in Primary School, Rajaura, Anchal Kahara, District Saharsa. 15. Parmanand Paswan, Son of Sri Bhubneshwari Paswan, Headmaster in Primary School, Basiyaghat, Anchal Satar Kataiya, District Saharsa. 16. Shobhakant Deo, Son of late Panchanand Deo, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Santhal Tola Nayanagar, Anchal Navhatta, District Saharsa. 17. Upendra Prasad Yadav, Son of Sri Bodhi Prasad Yadav, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Bangali Tola, Anchal Navhatta, District Saharsa. 18. Lakshmikant Jha, Son of late Mahadeo Jha, Headmaster in Primary School, Bangali Tola, Anchal Navhatta, District Saharsa. 2 19. Geeta Toppo, Wife of Sri Mukul Uraon, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Basiyaghat, Anchal Satar Kataiya, District Saharsa. 20. Shanti Devi, Wife of late Jagdish Prasad Sah, Assistant Teacher in Primary School, Razaura, District Saharsa. ----------- Petitioners Versus 1. The State of Bihar. 2. The Commissioner and Secretary, Primary Education Department, Government of Bihar, Patna. 3. The Director, Primary Education, New Secretariat, Patna. 4. The District Magistrate, Saharsa. 5. The District Superintendent of Education, Saharsa. ---------- Respondents ----------- 21 19.07.2010 Heard Mr. Rajendra Prasad Singh, learned senior counsel for the petitioners and counsel for the State. The prayer of the petitioners in this writ application reads as follows:- “1. That this is an application for issuance of appropriate writ(s)/direction(s) for quashing the order contained in letter dated 28.9.2000 issued by the District Superintendent of Education, Saharsa whereby and whereunder the Units against which the petitioners were working have been transferred from non plan Head to plan head. And further respondents be directed to post the petitioners in Govt Elementary Primary Schools i.e. in non plan Head. And further respondents be directed to make payment of arrears of salary to the petitioners from July, 2000 to February, 2001 with 3 24% interest. And further for direction to make payment of arrears of salary for the month of February, 2000 to petitioner no.1, 9 and 14. And also for direction to make payment of arrears of salary to petitioner no.9 for the month of April, 1999 with bank interest.” In respect of the aforementioned prayer, Mr. Singh would submit that though in effect the order in question would give an impression of being transfer of the post held by the petitioners from non-plan to plan head but in effect the same would adversely affect their right in either getting payment of their salary or even in the matter of receiving their retirement benefit. It however appears there was a valid and compelling administrative reason for passing the impugned order which has been explained in paragraph nos. 9, 10 & 11 of the counter affidavit and reads as follows:- "That so far as the alleged facts of the case are concerned the petitioner respondent begs to leave to make the following preliminary submissions:- (i) That payment of teachers (both of the plan and none-plan units) were used to be made from the allotment made under the head of non-plan units till the year 1999-2000 but the Director 4 of Primary Education asked for the Units of plan and non-plan teachers available in the District and this necessited the bifurcation of plan and non plan teachers for the purpose of payment of their salaries. (ii) That in the year 1988 there was a total of 146 units of plan teachers in the then amalgamated district of Saharsa and Supaul and due to the bifurcation of these two district only 61 unit of plan teachers was left in the district of Saharsa. (iii) That the District Primary School Planning Committee had already distributed these units earlier in different schools and to bring uniformity it was decided that the teachers last joining these schools having plan units would be treated as teachers of plan units and such teachers would be paid their salaries from the allotment made under the head of plan teachers. That it is relevant to mention here that the present writ petition seems to have its roots in the misconception that by impugned order the respondents have changed/altered their cadre but the fact is that the post of teacher of plan head is totally temporary nature and as stated above in the preliminary submissions as there is ban on transfer of teacher so simply for the convenience and for the sake of uniformity the order as contained in Annexure-1 has been passed which has got no bitting affect nor doese it intend to changed the cadre of the writ petitioners and. The inconvenience caused in payment was simply due to technicalities stated above. The writ petitioners are getting their present salary on regular basis. 5 That it is further stated that the hue and cry raised by the writ petitioners are of no substance as his cadre has not been given any demanding or lowering affect the authorities have simply envolved a rule of convenience which is totally provisional in nature and further the allotment under both the heads (Plan and non- Plan) are regular." In view of the fact that the authorities themselves have made it clear that such order of the petitioners, bringing their the post him non plan head to the plan head, was on account of the bifurcation of the district of Saharsa into to Saharsa and Supaul necessitating division of permanent posts of teacher s in non plan had and the petitioners’ service condition, either in the matter of payment of salary or retirement benefit, was in no way going to affected, the grievance raised by the petitioners, seems to be wholly misconceived. That being so, this Court would find no reason to interfere with the impugned order and consequently, the same, being devoid of any merit, is dismissed. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)