SC Restores Appointments of Teachers; Quashes Termination for Excluding Vocational Marks and for Breach of Natural Justice

Three teachers were appointed in 2015 as Intermediate Trained Teachers under the District Education Superintendent of Jharkhand, Dhanbad. In 2016, their services were terminated on the grounds that they had secured less than 40% marks in the Intermediate examination and that their graduation certificates were invalid. They challenged these orders before the Jharkhand High Court.

A Single Judge allowed their petitions, but the Division Bench reversed that decision. The teachers approached the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order dated 3 August 2021. The appellants argued that, being members of the Scheduled Tribe category, they were entitled to 5% relaxation and had indeed secured above 40% when vocational subject marks were included, as permitted by the guidelines printed on the reverse of their marksheets. The State, however, relied on Rule 21 of the Jharkhand Primary School Teacher Appointment Rules, 2012, which excluded marks of “additional subjects” in calculating educational merit. The appellants further claimed a violation of natural justice since their termination was based on a ground not mentioned in the show-cause notices.

Issue Raised: Whether marks obtained in vocational subjects could be included to determine eligibility, and whether termination without a fresh show cause notice violated principles of natural justice.

SC’s Decision: The Supreme Court held that the authorities had erred in excluding vocational marks while computing eligibility. Rule 21 of the 2012 Rules governed preparation of the “merit list,” not determination of eligibility, which fell under Rule 4. Since Rule 4 did not prohibit the inclusion of vocational marks, the calculation method provided on the reverse of the marksheet had to be followed. The Court also found that the termination orders violated natural justice, as the employees were dismissed on a ground never mentioned in the SCN.

The Court set aside the Jharkhand High Court’s Division Bench orders and quashed the termination orders. It held that the appellants should be treated as continuously in service from their original appointment in December 2015 with full arrears and seniority, but excluding the non-working period for experience. For the deceased appellant, his heirs were directed to receive full arrears up to the time of his death, and the Court permitted them to seek a compassionate appointment under the applicable schemes.

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