Ranjit Sharma vs State of Jammu and Kashmir and others

By Government order No.396Edu of 2000 dated 28.4.2000 a RehbareTaleem scheme was introduced with the objective of promoting the

decentralized management of elementary education with community participation and involvement to ensure accountability and responsiveness

through a strong backup and supervision through the community and to operationalise effectively the schooling system at the grass root level.

Under the scheme provision of services of teaching guides called 'RehbareTaleem in the primary and Middle schools to make up the deficiency of

the staff was envisaged. The concept of the scheme provided that the person to be provided to make up the deficiency of the staff at the

elementary level of education will be designated as 'RehbareTaleem'. The underlying objective was to posit the role of the teaching guide as

catalyst for quality education and to ensure the overall development of the personality of the children drawn from the local community and

accountability of the teacher would be immediately providing for constant interface and interaction with the community to secure universal

enrolment and to check the incidence of drop outs. Under the scheme for the purpose of selection, composition of a Village Level Committee,

which was to draw panel of eligible candidates from the village in which the primary or middle school was existing, is to be composed of:

a) Two parents of the children studying in the institutions within the village provided they are literate;

b) Two persons to be nominated from the village who have social standing;

c) A representative of women/scheduled caste/scheduled tribe;

d) Zonal Education Officer;

The eligibility for appointment under the scheme is as follows:

I. RehbareTaleem should be the permanent resident of the State;

He or she should belong to the village where there is assessed deficiency of staff. On the certification of VLC that no local candidate from the

village is available, can draw up the panel from the adjoining village;

He or she should possess the minimum qualification of 10+2;

The candidate shall as far as possible fulfill the age qualification as prescribed by the State government;

Due consideration shall be given by the VLC's to the scheduled cases and scheduled tribes.

The panel drawn up by the V.L.C. is required to be submitted through Zonal Education Officer to the concerned Deputy Commissioner and the

Dy. Commissioner along with a representative of Director School Education) to be nominated by him in advance) has to make final selection with

the assessed requirement and formal order for engaging RehbareTaleem has to be issued by the ZEO concerned.

Chief Education Officer Jammu by his Notification No.DlP/J/863 invited applications for filling up the posts of teachers through 'RehbareTaleem

scheme"" (RT scheme hereafter), in the month of July 2003. The petitioner Ranjit Sharma as well as respondent No.6, Smt. Anita Khajuria, applied

for the said post existing in Primary School Rara, Tehsil Samba. The Village Level Committee (VLC) prepared a panel of the candidates as per

their interse merit. The name of respondent No.6, Anita Khajuria, figured at S.No. l and the name of the petitioner was at S.No.2 of the said

panel. The panel so prepared contained the following note:

Certified that S.No. I Anita Khajuria residing at Sainik colony Jammu at present.

The panel after being prepared came up for consideration before the Village Education Committee, which passed the following resolution:

A meeting of the Village Education Committee of village RARA was convened on 14.10.2003 under the chairmanship of Zonal Education

Officer Ramgarh in which the following committee members were present. It was made clear to all committee members that the panel for the

engagement of RehbareTaleem teacher has been prepared, which was shown to the committee members with the view of verification by the

committee members and to insure the certification on the part of the committee members that all the candidates contained in the panel are

permanent resident of village RARA and are also presently residing in the above said village except S.No. l only who is residing at Sanik colony

Jammu. The selected candidates contained in the panel are strictly considered on the basis of qualification/ merit. The panel was verified and vetted

by the committee members on spot.'1

After the approval of the panel respondent No.6 has been selected for appointment as teacher. The petitioner has challenged the selection of

respondent No.6 for appointment as a teacher on the ground that respondent No.6 is resident of Sainik colony Jammu; therefore, under the

scheme she could not be considered for appointment in respect of a vacancy occurring in Primary School in Village Rara Tehsil Samba. The

petitioner has attached a certificate issued by Sanik Cooperative Housing Society Jammu whereby it has been certified that Bodh Raj S/o Late Pt.

Charandas is a member of the Society under registered No. 3533 and has been allotted plot No.237C in the said colony whereupon he has

constructed his house in which he is living with his family, including Smt. Anita Khajuria W/ o Sunil Sharma. There is another certificate issued by

Capt. Govind Singh Panch W.No. 6 Sainik Colony Panchayat Halqa Sunjwan which certifies that Anita Khajuria W/o Sunil Sharma is a

permanent resident of Sainik colony Jammu, House No.237 Sector C. It maybe mentioned here that Bodh Raj in whose name plot No.237C has

been allotted is the fatherinlaw of respondent No.6. The case of the petitioner Thus is that respondent No.6 Smt. Khajuria is residing at Sainik

colony Jammu in the house of her fatherinlaw and therefore could not be considered for appointment to the post of teacher in Govt. Primary

School Rara under RT scheme.

The stand of respondent No.6 is that she along with her husband is living separately in village Rara Tehsil Samba. Her husband is also a teacher

and presently is posted at Higher secondary school Rehel Tehsil Bishna. She has also attached some certificates of the villagers and another Panch

of village Rara certifying that she is residing along with her husband in their house at village Rare. She has also attached copy of her permanent

resident certificates as well as copy of the ration card and a certificate issued by Naib Tehsildar Samba in which she has been shown Samba to be

resident of village Rare Tehsil Samba.

The stand of the official respondents as projected in the reply affidavit is that recommendation of the Village Level Committee has been

approved on the basis that respondent No.6 has permanent resident certificate of Village Rare and is more meritorious than the petitioner.

I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record of the case thoroughly.

The sole controversy raised in this petition is with regard to the residence of respondent No.6 Smt. Anita Khajuria. The claim of the petitioner is

that she residing with her fatherinlaw at Sainik colony Jammu whereas the stand of respondent No.6 is that she is residing with her husband in

Village Rara. Learned counsel for respondent No.6 does not dispute the fact and rather admits that respondent No.6 before her marriage with

Sunil Sharma was permanent resident of Jammu and not of Village Rare. According to him she acquired residence of her husband after being

married to him where after she has been living with her husband at village Rara. So far as the residence of husband ofthe petitioner is concerned, it

is quite evident from copy of the ration card annexed with the objections and genuineness of which has not been disputed by the petitioner, that he

is shown to be a resident of Village Rara. The ration card is for two persons, which include respondent No.6 Smt. Anita Khajuria.

I n view of the fact that respondent No.6 is the wife of Sunil Sharma, who is resident of Village Rara, it can be assumed that she has acquired

the status of being belonging to Village Rara. The question arising for consideration is that assuming that she was residing in Sainik colony with her

fatherinlaw, in view of the fact that said fact stood acknowledged by the Village Level Committee in the panel prepared for selection to the post of

teacher, was she entitled for selection and appointment under RT scheme and in that view of the matter whether the actual residence in the

concerned village of a candidate is the sine qua non for the said selection and appointment?

10."" As already said, one of the prerequisite of the eligibility criteria envisaged under RT scheme is that he or she should belong to the village where

there is assessed deficiency of staff. The contention of Mr. Sethi, learned counsel for the petitioner, is that the word ""belong"" would mean that the

person to be selected as teacher under RT scheme must actually reside within the village for being eligible for consideration for selection and

appointment. On the other hand the contention of learned counsel for the respondents is that the actual residence at the time of selection in the

village is not necessary. According to him what is relevant is that the person should come from that village. Mr. Bhatia, learned counsel appearing

on behalf of respondent No.6, submits that respondent No.6 after her marriage belongs to that village and though she is residing in the same village

yet assuming that she was not actually residing there, still she will not be disentitled for selection and appointment as a teacher under RT scheme.

From the perusal of the eligibility criteria set down under the RT scheme it is manifest that the words ""actually residing in the village"" are

conspicuously absent and instead the word ""belong1"" has been used. The word ""belong"" has not been defined anywhere in the scheme. In the

absence of definition giving under the scheme, its meaning has to be understood in the ordinary parlance. The word ""belong"" as per The New

Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 1993 Edition, carries the following meanings:

Be connected with as a member, part, inhabitant, dependency etc.

Thus a person who is connected with the village as a member, part or inhabitant, is to be deemed to be a person belonging to that village. Such

person who belongs to a village may not necessarily reside in that village. A situation can be conceived where a person of a village may go out of

the village, reside at some other place and be in search of a job. If he does not get a job there, can he be excluded from the opportunity of getting

a job in his own village to which he belongs? The RT scheme requires that a person to be appointed under the scheme must belong to that village.

The object of making a person belonging to a particular village entitled to appointment is that being a person of the village he can have a better

concern for the students of that village. He can be the best person to promote the objectives envisaged by the scheme, described above.

In my considered opinion simply because a person at the time of selection is not actually residing in that village where the assessed deficiency

of staff exists in a school cannot be disentitled from selection and appointment under RT scheme on that ground alone. Respondent No.6 in the

present case, after her marriage with a person, residing of Village Rare has to be deemed to be a person belonging to that village. Simply because

she wasfound to be residing with her fatherinlaw at Sainik colony Jammu, it cannot be said that she had lost her eligibility for being considered for

selection and appointment as a teacher under RT scheme. The petitioner was low in merit, though belonging to the same village, therefore, does not

possess a better claim for appointment as compared to respondent No.6.

For the aforesaid reason, I find no merit in this petition which is accordingly dismissed, along with connected C.M. Ps. Interim direction dated

30.10.2003 shall stand vacated.