34,540 teachers appointment case decided in 2018 by Justice Anil Kumar Upadhyay has reached Supreme Court

In Nand Kishor Ojha vs. The State of Bihar (2025), Supreme Court's Division Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard a special leave petition which arose out of impugned final judgment and order dated April 5, 2018 passed by the Patna High Court's Division Bench of Justices Anil Kumar Upadhyay and Chief Justice Rajendra Menon. The 52-page long judgement was authored by Justice Upadhyay. Supreme Court's order states that it has to be listed it again on May 6, 2025 to enable the counsel to place on record additional documents, in particular, the appointment letters of the petitioners.

All the petitioners of writ applications were appointed against the 34,540 posts advertised vide advertisement No. 210 of 2010 in terms of Bihar Special Elementary Teacher Recruitment Rules, 2010 in the year 2012. Appointment/selection process of the petitioners was undertaken by the respondent-State in terms of the direction of the Apex Court in MJC No.297/2007. Foundational fact for issuance of for direction of the Apex Court for appointment against 34540 posts of Assistant Teacher in Elementary School in Contempt Petition No. 297 of 2007 are set out. In 1991 recruitment rules for recruitment of assistant teachers in elementary/primary schools in the State of Bihar underwent a change. The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) was authorised to conduct selection process and recommend for appointment of Assistant Teacher. In the amended Recruitment Rules trained and untrained persons were eligible for appointment following the selection process by the Bihar Public Service Commission. On 8th of October 1991 the BPSC advertised 25,000 posts and thereafter conducted preliminary test as well as the final test. On the basis of the recommendation of the Bihar Public Service Commission 19,272 candidates were selected and recommended for appointment as Assistant Teachers. Out of 19272 selected candidates 17281 were untrained. A writ petition was filed in the High Court by the candidate having trained qualification that the action of the respondents making appointment of untrained ignoring the available trained candidates is illegal and arbitrary. This issue was finally taken to the Supreme Court in the case of Ram Vijay Kumar and others vs. State of Bihar and others: in SLP(C) No. 23187 of 1996 reported in (1998) 9 SCC 227. The Court vide order dated September 5, 1997 had decided the special leave petition.

The election was made for nearly 25,000 posts. According to the figures given by the State of Bihar in the affidavit dated 14-8-1997 filed by Deepak Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Education, Government of Bihar, total number of 19,700 candidates were selected and recommended for appointment by the Commission and out of these 19,272 persons have been appointed as Assistant Teachers in various schools. The number of trained teachers in the cadre of Assistant Teachers thus appointed is 1991, while the number of untrained teachers is 17,281. It would thus appear that out of the 25,000 posts for which selection was made about 6000 posts remain to be filled. Some of these posts will have to be set apart for candidates belonging to reserved categories.