2025:UHC:6079-DB SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPSB/389/2020 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J. Hon’ble Subhash Upadhyay, J. Mr. Sandeep Kothari & Mr. Abhilash Nainwal, Advocates for the petitioner. 2. Mr. Devendra Singh Bora, Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand / respondent nos. 1 to 5. 3. Mr. Vikas Bahuguna, Advocate for respondent no. 6. 4. Petitioner was appointed as Assistant Teacher, L.T. Grade in a Government Aided Institution in the year 1997 and he was thereafter promoted as Lecturer (Hindi) w.e.f. 21.05.2010. The post of Principal in the said college fell vacant on 30.06.2008 and charge of the said post was given to one Mrs. Raj Lakshmi Saxena, a senior most lecturer. Mrs. Raj Lakshmi Saxena relinquished the charge as Officiating Principal on 25.03.2013 and petitioner was thereafter appointed as Officiating Principal on the same day. 5. Petitioner requested to the Committee of Management to appoint him as Downgrade Principal and the Management after passing a resolution recommended the matter to the Regional Additional Director of Education, Pauri. The recommendation made by the Committee of Management, however, was turned down by the Regional Additional Director, 2025:UHC:6079-DB vide letter dated 25.11.2020, on the ground that on the date of vacancy on the post of Principal, petitioner was not eligible for appointment as Principal. Thus, feeling aggrieved, petitioner has approached this Court. 6. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that although in the earlier Government Order dated 28.10.2020, there was a condition that one should be eligible for appointment as Principal on the date of occurrence of vacancy on the said post and only then he will be considered for appointment as Downgrade Principal. He submits that condition mentioned in the Government Order dated 28.10.2020 was relaxed by a subsequent Government Order dated 05.01.2022, therefore, petitioner is now eligible to be considered for appointment as Downgrade Principal. 7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Committee of Management thereafter sent another proposal for appointing petitioner as Downgrade Principal, in view of Government Order dated 05.01.2022, which is now pending before the Additional Regional Director. 8. Learned State Counsel, per contra submits that the post of Principal fell vacant in 2008; while, petitioner was promoted as Lecturer only in 2010, thus, as Assistant Teacher, L.T. Grade, petitioner had no claim for appointment as Principal/Downgrade Principal, on the date of occurrence of vacancy. 2025:UHC:6079-DB 9. Be that as it may, since the condition, mentioned in Government Order dated 28.10.2020, has allegedly been relaxed by Government Order dated 05.01.2022, therefore, we dispose of the writ petition by directing the Regional Additional Director to examine the claim of petitioner in the light of subsequent Government Order issued on 05.1.2022 and also the relevant provision of Chapter-II of the Regulations framed under Uttarakhand School Education Act, 2006, as amended from time to time. We hope and expect that the decision in this regard shall be taken by Regional Additional Director, within four months from the date of production of certified copy of this order. (Subhash Upadhyay, J.) (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 14.07.2025 Navin NAVEEN CHANDRA Digitally signed by NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f48 7df006da82a131bb4e4403d3c0a15, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819D A875643AF56D653D095C6ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA Date: 2025.07.15 10:00:28 +05'30'