JUDGMENT Sunil Ambwani, J.
1. Heard Sri Sunil Kumar for petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for respondent nos. 1 to 3.
2. The petitioner is the senior-most teacher in L.T. grade in Adarsh Kannya Inter College, Jewar, District Gautambudh Nagar (Bulandshahr). She is M.A. in Political Science, Hindi and Economics and had passed B.Ed. Examination in the year 1972. She was appointed as Assistant Teacher in C.T. grade on 8.7.1972 and was promoted to L.T. grade on 26.8.1979. The respondent no. 6 Smt. Chitra Singhal was appointed as Assistant Teacher in L.T. grade in the College on 5.7.1980. She is M.A. in Political Science, History, Hindi, Sanskrit and B.Ed. According to seniority list, the petitioner was shown as Senior-most teacher in L.T. grade and respondent no. 6 Smt. Chitra Singhal is placed at SI. No. 2.
3. There are only two posts of Lecturers in the College. One of the posts fell vacant on the retirement of Smt. Sarla Chaudhary on 30.6.2002. Smt. Saroj Gahlot, the other Lecturer is officiating as Principal and is going to retire on 30.6.2004. The qualification prescribed for the vacant post of Lecturer in Hindi is a Master degree in Hindi, and B.A. with Sanskrit as a subject.. The petitioner passed M.A. examination in Hindi in the year 1999. By the order dated 20.1.2004 issued in pursuance of the letter of Joint Director of Education 1stRegion, Meerut dated 19.1.2004, the Selection Committee constituted under Rule 12(1) of the U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board Rules, 1998 has selected and directed appointment of Smt. Chitra Singhal as Lecturer in Hindi on the vacancy caused on 30.6.2002 on the retirement of Smt. Sarla Chaudhary.
4. Counsel for petitioner submits that the petitioner is senior to respondent no. 6 and was eligible to be considered for promotion. He submits that petitioner has been discriminated by promotion of Smt. Chitra Singhal, who is junior to her.
5. Rule 14 of the U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board Rules, 1998 provides for the procedure for recruitment by promotion. Sub-rule (1) lays down the eligibility for promotion. Rule 14 (1) of the Rules of 1998 is quoted as below;
"14. Procedure for recruitment by promotion.- (1) where any vacancy is to be filled by promotion all teachers working in! trained graduates grade or Certificate of Teaching grade, if any, who possess the qualifications prescribed for the post and have completed five years continuous regular service as such on the first day of the year of recruitment shall be considered for promotion to the lecturers grade or the trained graduates grade, as the case may be, without their having applied for the same.
Note.- For the purposes of this sub-rule, regular service rendered in any other recognised institution shall be counted for eligibility, unless intercepted by removal, dismissal or reduction to a lower post."
6. In the present case, the petitioner had five years continuous regular service on the first date of the year of recruitment (j i.e., 1stJanuary, 2003) as L.T. grade teacher. She, however, passed M.A. examination in Hindi in the year 1999, and as such she had not completed 5 years continuous regular service with the qualifications for promotion i.e., M.A. in Hindi and teaching Hindi as the subject as the first day of the year of recruitment. Rule 14 provides consideration for promotion of all teachers" working in trained graduate grade or Certificate of Teaching grade, if any, who possess the qualification, prescribed for the post and have completed five years continuous regular service as such on the first day of the year of recruitment. The word 'as such' qualify both possession of qualification and five years continuous regular service. The teacher, therefore, should be qualified and must have completed 5 years of continuous regular service with the said qualification for being eligible to be considered for promotion.
7. Sri Sunil Kumar submits that the words 'as such' in Rule 14 refers to 5 years continuous regular service and not the qualification prescribed for the post. He submits that if a teacher is qualified, having the qualification prescribed in Appendix A of Schedule I of the U.P. Intermediate Education Act 1921, the fact that she has not completed 5 years continuous service with such qualification, is not material. The petitioner, according to him, is M.A. in Hindi and is the senior-most Lecturer with more than five years continuous regular service in L.T. grade and thus she could not be denied promotion.
8. Before the commencement of U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board Rules, 1983, Regulation 5 and 6 of Chapter II of U.P. Intermediate Education Act, 1921 regulated the promotions. Regulation 6 provided that all the L.T. or C.T. grade teachers, as the case may be, having a minimum of 5 years continuous substantive service to their credit on the case of occurrence of vacancy shall be considered for promotion by the Committee of Management without their having to apply for the same provided they possess the prescribed minimum qualifications for teaching the subject in which the teacher in the lecturer's grade or in the L.T. grade is required. Rule 9 of the Rules of 1983, qualified 5 years continuous service as a teacher in the concerned subject on the date of occurrence of vacancy. After this amendment on 1.7.1983, Rule 9 provided consideration of all teachers working in. L.T. grade or C.T. grade who possessed academic qualifications and have completed continuous teaching as teacher on the date of occurrence of vacancy to be considered for promotion to the Lecturer or L.T. Grade as the case may be, without their having applied for the same. In Chandra Pratap Singh v. Madhav Saran Tripathi and Ors., 1989 (1) UPLBEC 361, it was held that for promotion to the Lecturer or L.T. grade one has to possess minimum academic qualification and 5 years continuous service as a teacher on the date of occurrence of vacancy. In Harish Chand v. Joint Director of Education (2000) 3 UPLBEC 2341, the Court was considering the words on the date of occurrence of vacancy" in Rule 14, and in Yogendra Pal Singh v. District Inspector of Schools, (2000) 3 UPLBEC 2155, the word 'Regular' in Rule 14, came up for interpretation.
9. The Rules of 1998 made in exercise of powers under Section 35 of U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board Act, 1982, replaced the Rules of 1995, and came into force on 8thAugust, 1998. The words 'as such' in Rule 14, after the words five years continuous regular service, qualify both to the qualification prescribed for the post and five years continuous regular service. The Legislature has once again brought in the eligibility to only those persons who possessed qualification for the post and completed 5 years regular service with such qualifications. The words qualifications prescribed for the post and five years continuous regular service have been used in the same sentence, which is a compound (double) sentence, as a demonstrative pronoun, (Latin word demonstrate, to show clearly), and points to the person who possesses the qualification prescribed for the post.
10. The petitioner was awarded M.A. degree in Political Science and Economics in the year 1970-72. She was, however, awarded M.A. degree in Hindi in the year 1999 in IIIrd Division. There is no averment in the writ petition that as a L.T. grade teacher she was taking classes in Hindi as a subject. She is three years junior in age to respondent no. 6. She did not have five years continuous service with qualifications in Hindi and thus she was not eligible for promotion to the vacant post of Lecturer in Hindi in the year of recruitment.
11. For the aforesaid reasons, the writ petition is dismissed.