SC stays Allahabad HC's order directing UP govt to prepare revised select list of 69,000 assistant teachers

New Delhi [India], September 9 : The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Allahabad High Court order directing the Uttar Pradesh government to prepare a select list of 69,000 candidates for appointment as assistant teachers on the basis of the Assistant Teachers Recruitment Examination (ATRE) in 2019.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, ordered to keep in abeyance Allahabad High Court order. The top court was hearing the appeals challenging the Allahabad High Court order.
The Allahabad High Court on August 13 directed the Uttar Pradesh government to prepare a revised list of 69,000 assistant teachers selected through the ATRE in 2019.
"The High Court has directed the State Government to prepare a revised select list of 69,000 candidates for appointment as assistant teachers on the basis of ATRE 2019 to the Service Rules, 1981 afresh, ignoring the select lists dated 01.06.2020 and 05.01.2022, as a consequence of which the selected candidates belonging to the general category, who are at the lowest end of the merit list, i.e. having fewer quality point marks, as the present petitioners, will be rendered jobless," the petition filed through advocate, Rakesh Mishra, said.
The petition further submitted that the petitioners are under serious apprehension that in case the list is redrawn, they may lose their job despite no fault on their part and hence knocked the door of the court seeking to maintain status quo till the matter is being heard by the top court.
Allahabad HC, in its order, directed that after preparation of the select list in terms of quality points enumerated in rule 14 of the service rules, 1981, the reservation policy be adopted as envisaged under Section 3 (6) of the Reservation Act, 1994. If a reserved category candidate acquires merit equivalent to the merit prescribed for the general category, then a meritorious reserved category candidate shall be migrated to the general category as per the provisions contained in Section 3(6) of the Reservation Act, 1994, HC said.
The benefit of vertical reservation given in terms of the directions issued above shall give away to the horizontal reservation as per the statutes, rules, and government orders applicable in this behalf, the HC said. "While preparing the fresh select lists for appointment, if any one of the working candidates is affected by the action of the state government/competent authority, they shall be given the session benefit so that the students may not suffer," Allahabad HC said on August 13.
In 2018, the State Government decided to fill up 69,000 vacancies of assistant teachers and to hold ATRE-2019 as a qualifying examination for recruitment/selection to the post of assistant teacher in accordance with the 22nd amendment in the Service Rules, 1981.
In the Allahabad HC, the petitioner has challenged Circular dated January 7, 2019 issued by the state government for qualifying examination of ATRE-19.