IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Letters Patent Appeal No.981 of 2011 In Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 2002 of 2010 With Interlocutory Application No. 4477 of 2011 And Interlocutory Application No. 4478 of 2011 ====================================================== 1. The State Of Bihar 2. The Principal Secretary, Human Resources Development Department, Government of Bihar, Patna. 3. The Secretary, Human Resources Development Department, Government of Bihar, Patna. 4. Joint Secretary, Human Resources Development Department, Government of Bihar, Patna. 5. The Director, Higher Education, Human Resources Development Department, Government of Bihar, Patna. .... .... Appellants Versus 1. Abdus Salam Son of Late Md. Yasin Khan C/O Dr. M.Y.H. Hakim, Green Land School, Dharampur, Samastipur. 2. Dr. Akhilesh Chandra Singh son of late Chandra Mani Singh, resident of Behind Ram Krishna Ashram, Bela, Muzaffarpur. 3. Satyasheel Kumar Mishra, son of late Janardan Prasad Mishra, resident of Behind Model Inter College, Bahadurpur, Samastipur. 4. Arun Kumar Ghose, son of late Dr. Panchu Gopal Ghosh, resident of Shanti Sheela Bhawan, Near Model Inter College, Bahadurpur, Samastipur. 5. Dr. Satya Narain Yadav, son of late Sangram Lal Yadav, resident of Azad Nagar, Mohanpur, Samastipur, North of B.R.B. College, Samastipur. 6. Ram Narain Prasad Chaurasia, son of Bujhawan Chaurasia, resident of Purani Durga Asthan Compound, Bahadpur, Samastipur. 7. The Vice Chancellor, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga. 8. The Registrar, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga. 9. The Finance Officer, L.N. Mithila Universityh, Darbhanga. 2 10. The Principal, Samastipur College, Samastipur. 11. The Principal, B.R.B. College, Samastipur. 12. The Principal, U.R. College, Rosera, Samastipur. .... .... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Appellant/s : Mr. Chakradhari Sharan Singh, A.A.G. 6 For the Respondent/s : Mr. ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIRENDRA PRASAD VERMA ORAL ORDER (Per: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE) 2 11-07-2011 This Appeal is barred by limitation by 191 days. This Appeal under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent is preferred by the State of Bihar against the common judgment and order dated 21st September 2010 in so far as above C.W.J.C. No. 2002 of 2010 is allowed. The respondent nos. 1 to 6 (hereinafter referred to as “the writ petitioners”) are the Demonstrators serving in the constituent colleges of L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga. The writ petitioners approached this Court in above C.W.J.C. No. 2002 of 2010 to challenge the Government decisions dated 18th December 2008 and 3rd September 2009 in so far as the upgraded Demonstrators like the writ petitioners are treated as non-teaching staff and for a direction to implement the decision dated 14th June 2006. 3 The learned single Judge has upheld the claim of the writ petitioners. The learned single Judge has set aside the above referred decisions of the State Government not to treat these Demonstrators as teachers. It is held that “The consequence would be that all the redesignated Demonstrators, who have got promotion under the University statute or otherwise as Lecturers or Readers, as the case may be, in whichever University in Bihar would continue accordingly. They cannot be reverted nor their remuneration reduced. The second result would be that they would be entitled to the benefits of Demonstrators not from the date of Cabinet decision nor from the date of any communication issued thereafter but from the day when they acquired requisite qualification for the same as per the conventional decision, which date in cases of Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University is to be found in the Office Order No. 177 of 2007 dated 05.07.2007. There would be no question of reverting the promoted Lecturers/Readers to the post of Demonstrators or the redesignated Demonstrators to the post of Lab Assistant/Lab Technician/Lab Incharge/Lab Instructor.” Feeling aggrieved, the State of Bihar has preferred the present Appeal. Learned Counsel Mr. Chakradhari Sharan Singh has 4 appeared for the State of Bihar. He has relied upon sections 57 and 58 of the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976. He has submitted that Section 57 of the said Act requires that the appointment to the post of a teacher in any constituent college of the University can be made only through the selection made by the Bihar State University (Constituent Colleges) Service Commission. He has submitted that none of the writ petitioners or any other redesignated Demonstrators has been appointed through selection by Commission. The writ petitioners, therefore, though are redesignated as Demonstrators, cannot be treated as teachers or be promoted to the higher teaching posts namely; Lecturer or Reader. Mr. Chakradhari Sharan Singh has also drawn our attention to the earlier litigation before the then Ranchi Bench of the Patna High Court; the judgment of the learned single Judge as well as of the Division Bench and the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. He has submitted that the culmination of the aforesaid litigation is that the Lab Assistants/ Technicians were required to be considered for promotion in accordance with law, the Act and the Statutes of the University. However, they cannot claim to be teaching employees of the University nor can they claim promotion to the higher teaching posts. We see no substance in the submission made by Mr. Singh. It is apparent that in spite of the provisions contained in 5 Section 57 of the Act and the relevant statutes, in spite of the decision of the Division Bench of the then Ranchi Bench of the Patna High Court confirmed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court , the Government of Bihar in its wisdom took a decision on 14th June 2006, to redesignate the graduate Laboratory Assistant/Junior Laboratory Assistant/ Laboratory Incharge/ Lab Technician/ Technical Assistant, etc. appointed in the laboratory of the constituent colleges as Demonstrators. Under the said decision, it was specifically decided that since redesignation as Demonstrators the concerned employees will be entitled to all the benefits of the post of Demonstrator. In our opinion, “all the benefits” also includes right of being considered for promotion in accordance with the relevant statutes. In view of the aforesaid decision of the State of Bihar, the learned single Judge has rightly upheld the claim of the writ petitioners and has rightly issued the impugned directions. No case for interference is made out. The Appeal and the Interlocutory applications are dismissed. BTiwary/ (R.M. Doshit, CJ) (Birendra Prasad Verma, J)