The principal district and sessions court Pulwama has upheld a trial court order directing the chief education officer and the zonal education officer Pulwama to include the name of applicant after reframing the panel for engagement of ReT teacher.
The appellate court has also upheld the costs of Rs 60,000 imposed by the trial court on the CEO and the ZEO “for acting arbitrarily while dealing with the application of the aggrieved Shahnawaz Ahmad Bandh.”
Earlier the High Court had directed the PDJ Pulwama to decide the appeal within a month.
On October 18, 2017, the court of CJM Pulwama in a comprehensive judgment had directed the CEO and the ZEO to incorporate name of Shahnawaz Ahmad Bandh in the panel of candidates who had applied for the ReT teacher in primary school Kulluloo, Pulwama in 2007.
Bandh with M A, B Ed and M Ed degrees had approached the court in October 2007 after his application for the post was not entertained by the authorities.
He had submitted the application with the ZEO and the CEO on 6 October 2007 in response to the advertisement notification published on 30.9.2007. The refusal of the authorities to entertain his application had prompted Band to approach the trial court.
After coming to the conclusion that Band had submitted the application on time, the CJM Pulwama had directed the CEO and the ZEO to prepare a fresh panel of candidates after incorporating the name of Bandh in the panel within 15 days.
The two officers were directed to select the teacher for primary school Kulluloo with effect from 2007 on which the candidate with highest merit was entitled to be appointed.
The court had made it clear that if the candidate already appointed was not found meritorious, his appointment order would be automatically cancelled.
For acting in arbitrary manner to refuse the application of Bandh, the court had imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on the CEO and the ZEO as litigation costs which they had to bear from their own resources.
Against this order, the selected teacher, Sheraz Ahmad Sheikh had approached the principal district judge Pulwama who upheld the trial court order.
The CEO and the ZEO had also challenged the trial court order imposing costs on them.