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Jharkhand HC helps two female teachers get their jobs back
The judge was very upset with how the education officer delayed the approvals and changed the rules.
Two female teachers in the state capital won a major victory in the Jharkhand High Court as the court decided that the government cannot unfairly deny them their teaching jobs, people aware of the development said on Thursday.
A high court advocate close to the matter informed Hindustan Time saying the order was given by Justice Deepak Roshan on May 14, and was uploaded on June 15.
“In May 2023, Suchita Sharma and Archana Kumari were selected to work as assistant teachers at the Doranda Bengali Girls’ Middle School. However, a local education officer rejected their appointments. The officer claimed that the school was not a special linguistic minority school and that the two women were too old for the job. The high court ordered that they be reinstated to the job,” the advocate said.
The advocate shared the order copy. Justice Roshan examined all the facts of the case and discovered that the school was indeed a recognised minority school. He also found that the teachers were not too old because the government had not conducted teacher exams for 11 years, meaning the candidates legally deserved extra years added to their age limit.
The judge was very upset with how the education officer delayed the approvals and changed the rules. He explained that changing hiring requirements after an exam is over is completely unfair.
In his judgment, the Judge firmly stated: “The respondent no.3 cannot be permitted to change the rule of the game after the selection process is over.” The judge added that making the teachers wait so long was an “abuse of bureaucratic power of the executive.” Respondent No.3 is the District Superintendent of Education (DSE).
The court ordered the government to officially approve the teachers’ appointments within 30 days and release their salaries. Thanks to this court order, the two teachers can finally return to their classrooms.
