Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court imposed a fine of Rs 1.50 lakh on the state govt for the lapse in recruitment of physical education teachers by ignoring three candidates, though they possessed the requisite qualifications, and then resorting to unpalatable reasons to defend its action.The high court ordered the govt to pay the fine amount to three candidates — Rs 50,000 each to Ajay Desai, Dinesh Upadala and Dilip Chandresha — and to consider their candidature for the posts of Shikshan Sahayak in grant-in-aid higher secondary schools in Mehsana district, where the govt recruited for 26 posts last year.
The three petitioners approached the HC after their names were excluded from the merit list despite possessing the qualification of BPEd (Bachelor of Physical Education), MPEd (Master of Physical Education), and 2-tier TAT (Teacher Aptitude Test) for higher secondary in the subject of Yoga Health & Physical Education. They pointed out that the govt selected five candidates with the same qualification, and the petitioners’ names were excluded despite being higher in the merit list. The govt also considered unrelated PG degrees over their MPEd degree.When the HC sought a reply from the authorities concerned, they tried to defend the petitioners’ exclusion by arguing that they possessed a professional qualification, and not an academic qualification. The HC found the objection “vague and unfathomable” and “beyond imagination”, as this master’s degree qualification was mentioned in the advertisement as well. When the HC rejected this contention, the govt blamed the district education officer for the blunder. However, the HC said that it was the authority at the govt level that conducted the recruitment process.Finally, while directing the govt to consider the petitioners’ candidatures and adjust them in the select list on the basis of their marks, the HC ordered the govt not to disturb those five candidates who possessed the same qualifications, because these were the relevant and requisite qualifications.The HC also permitted the govt to recover the Rs 1.50 lakh fine amount, if it thought appropriate, from “the erring officers, who failed to take the right stand before this court, more particularly, who connived to ensure that the petitioners are not selected”.
