IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.248 of 2006 Hari Shankar Prasad Singh, Son of Late Raj Mangal Prasad Singh, R/o-Vill.- Muzabar Tal, P.S.-Manihari, District-Katihar. –Petitioner. VERSUS 1. The State of Bihar. 2. The Secretary (Secondary Education), Secondary, Primary and Adult Education Department, Government of Bihar, New Secretariat, Patna. 3. The Director (Secondary Education), Secondary, Primary and Adult Education Department, Government of Bihar, New Secretariat, Patna. 4. The Regional Deputy Director of Education, Purnea. 5. The District Education Officer, Purnea. 6. The District Education Officer, Katihar. –Respondents. ----------- 06 29.04.2011 The case of the petitioner is that he was working in Indrawati High School, Amdabad, Purnea, which was a private school. The Managing Committee of the said school vide their third meeting dated 29.03.1964 had appointed the petitioner, who was duly qualified to the post of Assistant Headmaster, on a vacant sanctioned post. Subsequently, the school was taken over. Petitioner’s claim is that in view of the Government circular no.3512 dated 26.11.1969 and, in particular, Clause-1 thereof, as he was working as Assistant Headmaster prior to 01.04.1966, he was entitled to be confirmed as such immediately. Instead of doing that he was confirmed as Assistant Teacher. He kept on representing to the authorities but nothing came out and he was made to superannuate as Assistant Teacher. When nothing happened, he approached this Court. This Court by order dated 19.03.2004 directed the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to take up the matter of the petitioner, give him an opportunity of hearing and disposed of the appeal by a speaking order. The matter was - 2 - decided by Annexure-1 by the Secretary, Secondary Education by order dated 13.09.2005 as against the petitioner. The fact that the petitioner had been working as Assistant Headmaster has not been seriously disputed to the contrary on record there are recommendations (Annexure-A) by the District Education Officer as recent as 16.06.1990 recommending the petitioner to be promoted to the post of Headmaster. In the said recommendation, it is noticed that petitioner had been appointed as Assistant Headmaster. Petitioner, thus, submits that his case is not covered by Clause-2 of the said circular of the year 1969 but was covered by Clause-1 thereof and the condition of the school having 320 students or more consecutively for three years had no application. These two issues, it is submitted, has totally escaped by the Secretary concerned. This cause immense loss to the petitioner. Having heard the learned counsels for the parties and perused the counter affidavit, it appears that there is no specific and certain denial of the basic fact that petitioner was appointed as Assistant Headmaster in the year 1964 itself, the other facts speak otherwise in support of the petitioner. There are various communications spread over the period which shows that the petitioner was the Assistant Headmaster and was even being considered for the purpose of Headmaster. These are facts which have not taken note of. There are material facts for the decision. I, therefore, set aside Annexure-1, the order of the Secretary and remand the matter to the Principal Secretary, Human Resources - 3 - Development Department, Government of Bihar, Patna for a fresh decision. As the matter is several decades old, it is expected that the learned Principal Secretary would expedite the matter and decide the same after taking into account all the facts but not later than three months from the date petitioner files a representation along with a copy of this order before him. With these observations and directions, the writ petition is disposed of. Trivedi/ (Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.)