Delay In Acquiring TET Qualification Due To COVID-19 Cannot Be Grounds To Deny Compassionate Appointment: Chhattisgarh High Court
The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that a candidate cannot be denied compassionate appointment merely because he could not acquire the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualification within the prescribed period when the examination itself was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court observed that where the delay was attributable to the authorities and not to the candidate, such...
The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that a candidate cannot be denied compassionate appointment merely because he could not acquire the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualification within the prescribed period when the examination itself was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court observed that where the delay was attributable to the authorities and not to the candidate, such delay could not be used to declare the candidate ineligible for compassionate appointment.
Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi was hearing a writ petition challenging an order dated 06.12.2022 whereby the petitioner was declared ineligible for compassionate appointment on the ground that he had failed to acquire the requisite qualifications within the three-year period granted to him. The petitioner's father, who was serving as an Assistant Teacher (LB), died on 07.04.2017. The petitioner obtained the D.El.Ed. qualification in 2019 and applied for the TET examination scheduled for 22.03.2020. However, the examination was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The petitioner repeatedly sought an extension of time and eventually appeared in the TET examination conducted on 09.01.2022, in which he qualified. Despite this, his claim for compassionate appointment was rejected.
The respondents contended that under the Circular dated 07.02.2014, the petitioner was required to acquire both D.Ed./B.Ed. and TET qualifications within the stipulated period, and since he failed to obtain the TET qualification before April 2020, he was rightly declared ineligible.
The Court noted that the petitioner had obtained the D.El.Ed. qualification within the prescribed period and that the TET examination scheduled for 22.03.2020 had admittedly been cancelled by the authorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It observed that no material had been placed on record to show that any TET examination had been conducted between 2017 and March 2020.
The Court further noted that the TET examination for the year 2020 was ultimately held on 09.01.2022 and the petitioner successfully qualified in the same. In these circumstances, the Court held that it could not be said that the petitioner had failed to acquire the requisite qualification within the period granted to him.
The Court further observed that the Supreme Court directed the exclusion of the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 for the purpose of limitation owing to the extraordinary circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and held that the same principle would equally apply to the actions of State instrumentalities in the present case.
Accordingly, the Court allowed the writ petition, quashed the order dated 06.12.2022 and directed the respondent authorities to consider the petitioner's case for compassionate appointment in accordance with law, preferably within 45 days.
Case Title: Vasudev Sahu v. State of Chhattisgarh & Ors. [WPS No. 1005 of 2023].