“The petitioners are unfortunate students who underwent Diploma in Teacher Education (D.T.Ed.) course in the fourth respondent institution during 2005-07. Though they wrote examinations for both the first and second year in 2006 and 2007, their results are yet to be published,” began a judgement passed by the Madras High Court on Friday.
Justice D. Hariparanthaman had authored the judgement passed in a writ petition filed by 49 students of Annai Sathiya Men Teacher Training Institute at Periyakumatti in Chidambaram taluk of Cuddalore district. The institute was administered by the Society for Minority People Movement Aiming Development in Several Aspects and represented by its Correspondent Victor Balachander.
The judge blamed the teacher training institute, the Director of Teacher Education (DTE) as well as the Director of Government Examinations (DGE) for the “untold sufferings” undergone by the petitioners in the last four years. He said that the first year results of the petitioners were withheld due to the mistake of the officials and the second year results were not published due to the omission of the institute.
The petitioners were not permitted to write the first year examinations on the ground that the appointment of three out of six faculty members of the institute was not approved by the DTE. Aggrieved against it, the institute filed a writ petition challenging the refusal to approve the appointments and the case was allowed on December 13, 2006 with a direction to grant approval.
The court had also permitted the students to write the first year examinations commencing from December 18, 2006. However, the DTE and the DGE withheld their results though the court had not imposed any such condition while allowing the writ petition. Subsequently, the DTE refused to approve the appointment of three other faculty members of the institute during the second year of the course.
Another writ petition was filed challenging the refusal and this time, the High Court held that the officials had rightly rejected the plea for approval as one of the teachers had been accused of impersonation. It was found out that the institute had submitted educational certificates of a teacher P. Elango whereas a photograph affixed on them was that of K.S. Elangovan.
Nevertheless, considering the fact that the students had already written their second year examinations on the basis of interim orders, the court directed the institute to make a representation to the officials seeking declaration of their results with a consequent direction to the officers to consider such representation sympathetically in the interest of the students.
“But unfortunately, the fourth respondent (the institute) did not make any such representation in spite of the aforesaid direction of this court on February 7, 2008,” Mr. Justice Hariparanthaman said and directed the institute to make the representation within four weeks seeking declaration of second year results. On receipt of such a representation, the DTE must pass appropriate orders taking into account the interest of the students, he said.
Apart from this, the students were legally entitled to get declaration of their first year results too. Hence, that exercise must also be completed within a month, the judge ordered.
