Mrinal Kanti Mridha vs. The State Of West Bengal Through Secretary Department Of Education
AI Summary
In a landmark judgment addressing the long-pending claims of Organizer Primary Teachers in West Bengal, the Supreme Court directed independent verification of eligibility and mandated appointments within specified timelines. The Court resolved a complex multi-petition dispute involving thousands of teachers seeking regularization, establishing clear procedural guidelines and appointing the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority as the neutral verification authority.
Case Identifiers
Petitioner's Counsel
Respondent's Counsel
Advocates on Record
eCourtsIndia AITM
Brief Facts Summary
Thousands of individuals claimed to have worked as Organizer Teachers in West Bengal schools and sought appointment as Primary Teachers. The Supreme Court had previously directed verification of these claims through a Verification Committee. However, verification remained incomplete and disputed. The State and Board contended that many petitioners had not furnished adequate information (name, address, date of birth, school of service, period of work, evidence of membership) necessary for verification. The petitioners contended that they had provided sufficient information and that the State had failed to conduct proper verification despite multiple court orders. The dispute centered on whether the petitioners were eligible under the rules in force on 14.09.1995 (requiring age below 60 years and requisite qualifications) and whether their past service as Organizer Teachers could be verified.
Timeline of Events
Original SLP(C) No. 15253/2006 filed regarding Organizing Teachers appointment
Supreme Court passed order directing details to be furnished regarding Organizer Teachers claiming right to appointment
Supreme Court passed order specifying details to be provided: name, address, date of birth, school of service, period of work, evidence of membership
Verification Committee constituted to verify details of Organizing Teachers
Verification Committee verified 1257 Organizing Teachers and identified 203 as below age 60 years and qualified as per 1995 Rules
Deadline for Organizing Teachers not in the list of 203 to approach Verification Committee
173 candidates appointed as Primary Teachers with effect from this date
Deadline for appointment letters to be given to 173 candidates
Supreme Court passed order directing remaining matters to be transmitted to High Court and requesting Chief Justice to place matters before Division Bench
SLP(C) No. 3775/2018 filed and first hearing held
SLP(C) No. 5401/2018 filed and hearing held
SLP(C) No. 6715/2018 filed and hearing held
Diary No. 9979/2018 filed with condonation of delay application
Court directed State to make available original proceedings of verification conducted by three-Member Committee
Supreme Court passed final judgment disposing all appeals and directing independent verification by West Bengal State Legal Services Authority within four months
Key Factual Findings
Despite multiple court orders, verification of many petitioners' claims had not been conducted
Source: Current Court Finding
Many petitioners had not furnished adequate information regarding their past service as Organizer Teachers
Source: Recited from Respondent Pleading
The Verification Committee had verified 1257 Organizing Teachers and identified 203 as eligible
Source: Recited from Lower Court Judgment and Previous Court Orders
173 candidates had been appointed as Primary Teachers with effect from 1.10.2016
Source: Recited from Previous Court Orders
There was a serious dispute regarding verification that could not be resolved by the Supreme Court
Source: Current Court Finding
The only remaining dispute was with regard to verification of remaining petitioners' claims
Source: Current Court Finding
Primary Legal Issues
Secondary Legal Issues
Questions of Law
Petitioner's Arguments
The petitioners argued that: (1) They had worked as Organizer Teachers in the past and were entitled to appointment as Primary Teachers; (2) The State and Board had failed to conduct proper verification despite multiple court orders; (3) They had provided sufficient information and documentation to enable verification; (4) The delay in appointment was causing them financial and personal hardship; (5) The verification process should be completed expeditiously; (6) They were eligible under the rules in force on 14.09.1995 as they were below age 60 years and possessed requisite qualifications.
Respondent's Arguments
The respondents (State and Board) argued that: (1) Many petitioners had not furnished any particulars regarding their past service as Organizer Teachers; (2) No information had been provided regarding address, age, educational qualification, or school of service; (3) Except for organizational membership, no substantive details were available for verification; (4) The Board could not verify claims without proper documentation and information; (5) The verification process required detailed information which had not been adequately supplied by the petitioners.
Court's Reasoning
The Court reasoned that: (1) There was a serious dispute regarding verification that could not be resolved by the Supreme Court itself; (2) The dispute was primarily factual in nature, requiring independent investigation rather than judicial determination; (3) An independent neutral authority was better suited to conduct impartial verification; (4) The West Bengal State Legal Services Authority, being independent and neutral, was the appropriate body to verify the remaining grievances; (5) The verification process should be completed within a fixed timeline (four months) to prevent further delay; (6) The Secretary to Government should take appointment action within one month of receiving the verification report; (7) To prevent further litigation and ensure finality, no Court should entertain challenges to the verification report; (8) The Registry should not accept fresh petitions on this subject to prevent multiplicity of proceedings.
- Emphasis on Finality and Closure - The Court sought to bring finality to a long-pending dispute by declaring the verification report final and preventing further litigation
- Pragmatic Problem-Solving - Rather than adjudicating the factual disputes itself, the Court delegated verification to an independent authority
- Concern for Judicial Efficiency - The Court prevented fresh petitions on the same subject to avoid multiplicity of proceedings
- Balance Between Rights and Administrative Efficiency - The Court balanced the rights of petitioners to appointment against the State's need for proper verification procedures
Impugned Orders
Specific Directions
- 1.Delay condoned and leave granted
- 2.Secretary to West Bengal State Legal Services Authority directed to verify remaining grievances of appellants and intervenors/impleading applicants as on 25.04.2018
- 3.Secretary to West Bengal Legal Services Authority to complete verification process within four months from order date
- 4.Secretary to Government to take required action for appointment within one month of receiving verification report
- 5.No Court shall entertain any further challenge on the report submitted by Secretary to West Bengal Legal Services Authority
- 6.Registry to forward records as on 25.04.2018 to Secretary to West Bengal Legal Services Authority within ten days
- 7.Registry not to entertain any fresh special leave petition or application for intervention/impleadment from any Organizer Primary Teachers seeking appointment from State of West Bengal on this subject hereinafter
- 8.173 candidates to be appointed as Primary Teachers with effect from 1.10.2016 with appointment letters before 31.10.2016
- 9.Verification Committee to verify details of 1257 Organizing Teachers and identify those below age 60 years and qualified as per Rules in force on 14.09.1995
- 10.Organizing Teachers to submit relevant documents concerning age and qualification to Verification Committee within four weeks
- 11.Verification Committee to recommend qualifying Organized Teachers to State within four weeks after verification
- 12.State to give appointment to persons recommended by Verification Committee within four weeks of receipt of list
Precedential Assessment
Persuasive (Supreme Court)
While marked as non-reportable, this judgment establishes important procedural principles regarding verification of public employment eligibility, the role of independent authorities in factual determination, and the finality of administrative verification reports. The Court's approach of delegating factual verification to an independent neutral authority rather than adjudicating disputed facts itself provides valuable guidance for similar employment disputes. However, the non-reportable status and the Court's own clarification that the order is passed in peculiar facts and should not be treated as precedent limit its binding precedential value.
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Order Issued After Hearing
Purpose:
Case Registered
Listed On:
3 May 2018
Order Text
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]
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
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.
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.
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 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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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)
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