High Court · 2025

Mr. B.D. Upadhyaya, learned Senior Counsel assist ed by Mr. Sunil Upadhyaya, learned counsel and Dr. K.H. Gupt a, learned counsel for t he pet it ioners. Mr. Sudhir Kum ar Nailwal, learned St anding Counsel and Mr. Dinesh Bankot i, learned Brief Holder for t he St at e. Mr. Anil Kum ar Bisht , learned counsel for r espondent no.5 in WPSB No.415 of 2020. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - H o n ’ b l e M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J. H o n ’ b l e Su b h a sh Up a d h y a y , J. ( Pe r : H o n ’ b l e M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) JUD GM EN T Since com m on quest ions of law and fact are involved in t hese writ pet it ions, t herefore, t hey are heard t oget her and are being decided by t his com m on j udgm ent . However, for t he sake of brevit y, fact s of Writ Pet it ion ( S/ B) No.391 of 2020, alone are being considered and discussed. 1

2. Pet it ioner was appoint ed as Lect urer in a Governm ent I nt er College w.e.f. 04.09.2006, t he post of Principal in t he said college fell vacant on 30.06.2005 and charge of officiat ing principal was given t o one Mr. Sawar Singh Rawat . Mr. Sawar Singh Rawat ret ired on

30.08.2011, t hereaft er, one Mr. Pawan Kum ar was eligible for holding charge of officiat ing Principal by virt ue of his seniorit y, however, Mr. Pawan Kum ar expressed his unwillingness, t herefore, charge as officiat ing Principal was given t o pet it ioner on

31.08.2011.

3. I n t his writ pet it ion, pet it ioner has sought t he following reliefs: - “ 1. a writ , order or direct ion in t he nat ure of cert iorari t o call for t he record of case and t he G.O. dat ed 28- 10- 2020 and consequent ial order dat ed 5- 11- 2020 passed by t he respondent No. 1 and 2 cont ained Annexure 18 and 19 respect ively t o t he writ pet it ion.

2. a writ , order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us direct ing t he respondent No. 3 t o grant his approval on t he proposal subm it t ed by t he Aut horised Cont roller of inst it ut ion regarding prom ot ion of t he pet it ioner on t he post of Principal ( Down Grade) in t he inst it ut ion in accordance wit h law. t he

3. any ot her writ , order or direct ion, which t his Hon'ble court m ay deem fit and proper on t he basis of t he fact s circum st ances of t he case.

4. award t he cost of t he pet it ion in favour of t he pet it ioner.”

4. Learned counsel for pet it ioner subm it s t hat condit ion of possessing m inim um qualificat ion appoint m ent on t he post of Principal ( Down Grade) on t he dat e of occurrence of vacancy, was relaxed by a Governm ent Order dat ed 05.01.2022. 2

5. Learned St at e Counsel, however, relies upon a j udgm ent rendered by t his Court in WPSB No.371 of 2020 and subm it s t hat sim ilar challenge t o Governm ent Order dat ed 28.10.2020 by a t eacher was repelled in t hat case by referring t o t he provisions of t he Act and regulat ions fram ed t hereunder.

6. Learned counsel for pet it ioner, however, relies upon a j udgm ent in WPSB No.389 of 2020 in which Governm ent Order dat ed 05.01.2022 was considered and t he writ pet it ion was disposed of by direct ing t he com pet ent aut horit y t o exam ine claim of t he writ pet it ioner for appoint m ent as Principal ( Down Grade) .

7. Since pet it ioner relied Governm ent Order dat ed 05.01.2022, t herefore, t he present writ pet it ion is also decided t erm s of j udgm ent rendered in WPSB No.389 of 2020.

8. The pet it ioner shall be at libert y t o m ake represent at ion t o Regional Addit ional Direct or concerned wit hin t en days from t oday. The Regional Addit ional Direct or shall exam ine claim of t he pet it ioner in t he light of t he relevant provision of Regulat ions fram ed under Ut t arakhand School Educat ion Act , 2006, as am ended from t im e t o t im e and also t he Governm ent Order dat ed

05.01.2022, wit hin five m ont hs t he dat e of present at ion of represent at ion wit h cert ified copy of t his order.

9. The writ pet it ion is disposed of accordingly. ( Su b h a sh Up a d h y a y , J.) ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) 23.07.2025 SS SUKHBANT SINGH DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=71978f9c61bfde0ba69967c787b1764ea7bc7dd1 29a8a6380d49b1885e628615, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=2D8B71B8D8E345F6B7F95B1DD4FB4BEBD 2B7D72C42261361AED33172F152148D, cn=SUKHBANT SINGH 3