Bichitrananda Behera Vs State of Orissa And Others (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered an appeal challenging the judgment of the Orissa High Court, which had upheld the order of the State Education Tribunal directing approval of the appointment of Respondent No.5 as Physical Education Trainer (PET) in a Gram Panchayat School and release of block grant in his favour with effect from 1 January 2004. The principal dispute before the Court was whether the appellant or Respondent No.5 was entitled to approval of appointment and consequential service benefits.
Background of the Dispute
The School was established in 1987 and recognised thereafter. Following disputes regarding the constitution of the School’s Managing Committee, different Managing Committees were constituted in 1992, and their validity became the subject of litigation before the High Court. During the pendency of those proceedings, the Managing Committee constituted on 15.12.1992, operating under an interim order of the High Court, issued an advertisement, conducted interviews, and appointed the appellant as PET on 14.05.1994.
Subsequently, while processing applications under the Grant-in-Aid Order, 2004, the Inspector of Schools passed an order dated 02.04.2005 approving the appellant’s appointment and holding him entitled to receive block grant. Respondent No.5 challenged this approval before the Tribunal, claiming that he had been appointed as PET on 10.01.1993 by the Managing Committee constituted on 28.12.1992. The Tribunal accepted his claim, quashed the approval granted to the appellant, and directed approval of Respondent No.5’s appointment along with release of block grant. The High Court affirmed the Tribunal’s decision, leading to the present appeal.
