TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (9) TMI 1737
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....l. By the said judgment, the High Court denied him absorption as an Assistant Teacher in the Higher Secondary Section and also rejected his claim for continuity of service. Relevant Facts: 2. The appellant was initially appointed as a Substitute Teacher on 05.12.1989. According to him, artificial breaks were created in his service by terminating him on the eve of the school vacations and thereafter reappointing him. The appellant states that he was terminated first before the summer vacations on 09.06.1990 and was re-engaged on 24.07.1990. His further case is that he was again terminated on 22.09.1990, on the eve of Puja Holidays. According to him, he was re-engaged on 01.11.1990. 3. When the matter stood thus, the appellant, fearing further creation of artificial breaks filed an application being O.A. No. 209 of 1990 before the Central Administrative Tribunal (for short 'the Tribunal') Guwahati Bench. He prayed for setting aside of the letters of termination dated 09.06.1990 and 19.09.1990 and also prayed for regularization of his service and for salary during the period of breaks. 4. The Tribunal passed an interim order on 03.12.1990 and it is an admitted fact....
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....re, therefore, allowed, the judgments of the Tribunal dated October 31,1994 in the applications filed by the appellants are set aside and the said applications are allowed with the direction that the appellants shall be considered for absorption on regular basis on the post of Assistant Teacher by the Screening Commit- tee in accordance with para 5.1 of the master circular dated January 29, 1991, and in case the appellants are found suitable for such absorption by the Screening Committee, they shall be restored to the post held by them with continuity of service. The process of selection by the Screening Committee as per directions in this order shall be completed within a period of three months from the receipt of the copy of this order. A copy of this order be sent to the Chief Personnel Officer, North East Frontier Railway, Maligaon, Guwahati. By our order dated March 27, 1995, we had directed that appointment may not be made on six posts of school teachers. The said order shall continue till the Screening Committee completes the process of screening." 7. The appellant too carried the matter from the Tribunal to this Court. His matter was disposed of on 15.0....
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.... from 05.12.1989 instead of the pay- scale of Rs. 1200-2040 that was offered. Thirdly, that under the Master Circular dated 29.01.1991, a Substitute School Teacher who acquires temporary status, after putting in continuous service for three months, is entitled to continuity in service as prescribed therein. 12. At this stage, we can profitably refer the order dated 28.12.1998 passed on the aspect of continuity of service with regard to these teachers who were currently absorbed. The order reads as under: "Sub :- Continuity of Service on regular absorption In compliance with Judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and CAT/Guwahati dated 13-10-95, 15- 2-96. 2-1-96 and 7-10-96, the following substitute teachers are absorbed as Primary teacher (Bengali Medium) and posted in Railway Schools. 1. Smt. Jayashree Deb Roy (Dutta) 2. Smt. Ratna Roy. 3. Shri Subal Chandra Chakraborty 4. Smt. Anupama Bhowmick 5. Shri Pijush Kanti Das 6. Smt. Radha Chakraborty 7. Shri S. K. Majumder. The past service rendered by (1) Smt. Jayashree Deb Roy (Dutta) (2) Smt. Ratna Roy (3) Shri Subal Chandra Chakrabor....
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....ant. So holding, the High Court upheld the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta Bench. 17. The appellant is before us in Appeal. Contentions: 18. We have heard Ms. Uttara Babbar, learned counsel for the appellant and Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, learned counsel for the Union of India. Both the learned counsel have painstakingly taken us through the records of the case and presented their respective points of view very ably. 19. Ms. Uttara Babbar, learned counsel for the appellant, contends that under the Master Circular dated 29.01.1991, Clause 4.3, 5.1 and 6 would apply to the case of the appellant. According to her, on completion of three months continuous service, the appellant acquired the temporary status under Clause 4.3; that under Clause 5, Substitutes, who have acquired temporary status were to be screened by a Screening Committee and not by Selection Boards for the purpose of absorption, and under Clause 6, the date of appointment of a substitute to be recorded in the service book against the column "date of appointment" should be the date on which the substitute attains a temporary status after continuous service of three months, if the same is foll....
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....hat this Court had not made any specific order regarding continuity of service. 23. Learned counsel contends that the grant of age bar relaxation can only be understood as a grant of additional relief and this cannot be read to mean that there was denial of the relief of continuity of service, if the appellants' were found entitled for absorption which they ultimately were found be entitled to. 24. Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, learned counsel for the Union of India, vehemently opposed the above submissions. Learned counsel, defending the orders of the courts below would submit that the claim for absorption as Assistant Teacher was totally unjustified. According to the learned counsel, the appellant was appointed in 1989 only as a substitute primary teacher in the pay-scale of the primary teacher and hence merely on the basis of the claim that some stop-gap classes XI and XII were taken, no plea for absorption as Assistant Teacher could be justified/made. He defended the order of absorption dated 02.01.1998 and also contended that the authorities were justified in passing the order of 28.12.1998 denying continuity of service for the period before 02.01.1998, since there was a clea....
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....er in the Higher Secondary Section is strongly refuted by the respondents by pointing out that his engagement as a substitute teacher was only in the pay-scale of Rs. 1200-2040 which was the scale for the primary teacher. They contend that his claim that he was allowed to take classes for XI and XII is unfounded. No doubt, the Central Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta Bench has recorded that the applicant had functioned as a mathematics teacher for Class XI and XII as a stop-gap measure. 31. This issue, however, need not detain the Court any longer as at no point in the first round of proceedings, the appellant made such a claim; the Screening Committee having considered him, pursuant to the orders of this Court, has thought it fit to absorb him only as a primary teacher; the Screening Committee itself was pursuant to the orders of this Court and based on the Master Circular of 29.01.1991 wherein the claims of the candidates like the appellant were examined; the records of his appointment as a substitute teacher admittedly show that he was only appointed as a substitute primary teacher; it is on the completion of three months as substitute primary teacher that he acquired tempor....
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....s available to the appellants in the earlier proceedings, namely, Transfer Application No. 822 of 1991 and the same was not put in issue. That not having been done, it must follow that such a contention is barred by the principles of constructive res judicata. Neither the contesting respondents nor the appellants ever raised this contention at any stage of the proceedings in Transfer Petition No. 822 of 1991. It would, therefore, be too late to raise such a contention when the seniority list has been finalized pursuant to the judgment of MAT, Bombay Bench in Transfer Petition No. 822 of 1991." Interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium: 35. The doctrine itself is based on public policy flowing from the age-old legal maxim interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium which means that in the interest of the State there should be an end to litigation and no party ought to be vexed twice in a litigation for one and the same cause (See M. Nagabhushana vs. State of Karnataka and Others, (2011) 3 SCC 408. 36. The contention raised on behalf of the appellant that he should at least be paid the salary and allowances as paid to the Assistant Teachers in the Higher Secondary Section for th....
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....ned in paras - 4.2 and 3 above does not entitle them to automatics absorption/ appointment to Railway service unless they are selected in the approved manner for appointment or absorption to regular posts. 4.5 Service of substitutes will count for Pensionary benefits from the date of completion of four months (3 months in the case of teachers) continuous service provided it is followed by absorption in regular Group-C' (Class III)/Group-'D' (Class -IV) Service without break." ........ "5. Screening of the substitutes for their absorption in regular service :- 5.1 Substitutes, who have acquired temporary status should be screened by screening Committees and not by Selection Boards, Constituted for this purpose before being absorbed in regular Group -'C' (Class-Ill) and Group-'D' (Class-IV) posts. Such a screening Committee should consist of at least three members, one of whom should belong to the SC/ST Communities and another to minority communities." ...... 5. 11 Gaps which may occur in service of substitutes between two engagements should be ignored for the purpose of temporary status on com....