सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने झारखंड में अनुबंधित शिक्षकों के नियमितीकरण पर रोक लगाई – अनुच्छेद 309 पर प्रभाव

<h2>Supreme Court Verdict on Contractual Teachers in Jharkhand</h2> <p>The apex <span class="key-term" data-definition="Supreme Court — India's highest judicial authority, final interpreter of the Constitution and arbiter of disputes between the Union and States (GS2: Polity)">Supreme Court</span> has ruled that contractually employed teachers cannot be automatically regularised merely on the basis of long‑service. The bench, comprising <strong>Justice Pankaj Mithal</strong> and <strong>Justice S.V.N. Bhatti</strong>, held that such regularisation would create a parallel recruitment stream outside the statutory framework prescribed by the Constitution.</p> <h3>Key Developments</h3> <ul> <li>The Court rejected the claim that para‑teachers have a legal right to become permanent <span class="key-term" data-definition="Para‑teachers — teachers appointed on a contractual, ad‑hoc basis, often under schemes like SSA, without the security of regular service (GS2: Polity)">para‑teachers</span> after 5‑15 years of service.</li> <li>It affirmed the State’s constitutional power under <span class="key-term" data-definition="Article 309 — Constitutional provision governing recruitment, appointment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public offices (GS2: Polity)">Article 309</span> to decide suitability and to conduct recruitment through statutory processes.</li> <li>The judgment cited the precedent <span class="key-term" data-definition="Secretary, State of Karnataka v. Umadevi (2006) — Supreme Court case that reiterated recruitment must follow statutory norms and cannot be altered by ad‑hoc orders (GS2: Polity)">Secretary, State of Karnataka v. Umadevi (2006)</span> to underline that judicial interference cannot override recruitment rules.</li> <li>The Court directed Jharkhand to implement the existing reservation of 50 % of vacancies for para‑teachers under the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Jharkhand Primary School Recruitment Rules, 2012 — State rule prescribing recruitment, reservation and regularisation of primary school teachers (GS2: Polity)">Jharkhand Primary School Recruitment Rules, 2012</span> and the 2022 Sahayak Acharya Cadre Rules.</li> <li>It urged periodic performance audits and timely notification of vacancies to eliminate ad‑hocism.</li> </ul> <h3>Important Facts</h3> <p>The petitions were filed by a batch of para‑teachers engaged under the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) — Centrally sponsored scheme aimed at universalizing elementary education across India (GS3: Social Issues/Education)">Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)</span> in Jharkhand. They had served for <strong>5 to 15 years</strong> on a fixed honorarium of <strong>₹7,400‑₹8,400 per month</strong> and sought:</p> <ul> <li>Regularisation as Assistant Teachers / Sahayak Acharyas.</li> <li>Pay parity with regular government teachers.</li> <li>A declaration that the 2012 recruitment rules were unconstitutional for not providing autom