Hyderabad: Upholding the single judge’s directions to give appointment orders to the declared eligible candidates for the teaching posts in the DSC-1998 examination, the division bench of the Telangana High Court made it clear to the Education department that it must ensure that the appointment process is completed by October 25.
The division bench headed by Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan was dealing with the contempt appeal of District Educational Officers of Karimnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda and Khammam, who had been sentenced by the Single Judge to undergo two months imprisonment for not implementing the court's orders in appointing around 400 candidates as teachers after they had qualified for the posts in the 1998 DSC exams.
The contemnors filed an appeal to stay the single judge order. While granting the stay on the single judge’s order, the division bench wondered about non-implementation of court and tribunal orders since 2009 and directed the contemnors to comply with the orders before October 25.
Around 400 eligible candidates of DSC-1998 have been fighting a legal battle for the last 20 years to get their appointment orders. In 2009, the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal had directed the education officers to issue the candidates’ appointment orders. The matter was escalated to the High Court, which had upheld the tribunal's orders. But with no response from the authorities, the petitioners filed a contempt case, in which the single judge had pulled up the authorities and punished them with imprisonment.
