Deemed Approval Cannot Cure Teacher Appointment Made Against Mandatory Reservation Condition: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a statutory deeming provision cannot be used to validate a teacher appointment that was made in disregard of a mandatory reservation condition attached to the sanctioned post.

Background

The dispute concerned a C.T. Grade teacher post sanctioned in 1988 with a stipulation requiring reservation for a Scheduled Caste candidate. A general-category candidate was nevertheless selected and joined service.

Legal issue and Court's reasoning

He argued that his appointment became automatically approved because the competent authority did not communicate a decision within the thirty-day period contemplated by Rule 10(5)(iii).

The Court rejected that construction. A legal fiction of deemed approval can operate only within the statutory recruitment framework; it cannot convert an appointment made contrary to a foundational eligibility or reservation requirement into a valid appointment.

Result and practical consequence

The Court also held that participation of the education department's nominee in the selection committee did not cure the defect. Nor could a separate hearing requirement be invoked to perpetuate an appointment suffering from a fundamental statutory infirmity.

The petition challenging disapproval of the appointment was rejected.