Even after the decision of the High Court in the case of Soni Kumari vs Government of Jharkhand, the candidates selected for the post of teachers have had to file a petition in the High Court. A petition is now being sought in the High Court to complete the appointment process as soon as possible. Many candidates have already filed petitions in the Jharkhand High Court.
In its order in Soni Kumari case, a large bench of the High Court had said that the ongoing appointment process in 11 non-notified districts of the state should continue and never put any restriction on it. Even after this, the appointment process was stopped by the state government till the final decision in the case. After the order of the High Court, the government said the appointment process has been started in the non-notified districts. However petitions would not have been filed seeking the appointment in the High Court had that been the case. Petitions were also filed in High Court which said that the results were released a year ago and name was in the merit list, but appointment has not been recommended by the JSSC. It had been said in the High Court on behalf of the state government and JSSC that the appointment process will start only after the final decision in the case of Soni Kumari. With more than a month already passed since the verdict in this case, the candidates have had to come to the High Court to start the recruitment process.
Jharkhand government had issued a notification of the planning policy in July 2016 in which 13 notified and 11 non-notified districts were declared. It said that all the posts of the third and fourth categories of the notified districts would be reserved for the local people there. Subsequently, an advertisement was issued by the JSSC for the appointment of high school teachers, in which the provisions of the planning policy were given. Due to this, candidates from non-notified districts in 13 notified districts could not apply. Soni Kumari challenged it in the High Court and said that the government’s planning policy is unconstitutional as 100% reservation cannot be given in any case. A large bench of the High Court declared the government’s planning policy unconstitutional and ordered appointment process to begin in non-notified districts.
