The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers cannot claim seniority from the date of their initial engagement under the ReT Scheme. Their seniority will begin only from the date of their appointment as General Line Teachers after completing five years of satisfactory service.
The case was filed by General Line Teachers who challenged a 2014 government order granting retrospective seniority to ReT teachers. The appellants argued that this order violated service rules and unfairly impacted their own seniority positions.
"A teacher only becomes a member of service under the 1979 Rules after regularization. The service rendered prior to this cannot be used for fixing seniority." — High Court
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The ReT Scheme was started in 2000 to address teacher shortages by appointing locals as teaching guides in underserved villages. Initially, ReTs were engaged for two years, extendable to five based on performance. After completing this period, they could be regularized as General Line Teachers, subject to evaluations.
In 2014, a Cabinet decision added a proviso to the scheme, stating that the five-year period as ReT would count towards seniority and pension benefits. This decision led to discontent among regular teachers recruited through the Jammu & Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB), who filed a writ petition challenging the amendment.
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The single-judge writ court upheld the government’s order. However, the High Court’s division bench, comprising Justices Sanjeev Kumar and Sanjay Parihar, overturned the ruling. The bench emphasized that granting seniority from a date when the individual was not a formal member of the service violated Rule 24(1) of the J&K Civil Services Rules, 1956.
"Seniority starts from the date of entry into service, not before. The 2014 government order contradicts Rule 24(1) and is legally unsustainable." — Court
The Court also highlighted that while ReTs had been given welfare benefits like casual and maternity leave or counted for pension purposes, this did not make them equivalent to General Line Teachers before regularization.
The judgment further pointed out flaws in the policy-making process. The ReT appointments were made at the village level through a local committee, unlike General Line Teachers who were selected through a district-level competitive process by the JKSSB. The Court noted that treating both groups equally for seniority undermines merit-based recruitment.
“Policy convenience cannot override statutory service rules,” the Court remarked.
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Additionally, the bench clarified that an earlier Supreme Court decision only upheld the constitutional validity of the original ReT Scheme, not the 2014 amendment that granted retrospective seniority. Therefore, relying on that precedent was misplaced.
In conclusion, the High Court allowed the appeal and set aside the part of the 2014 government order that counted the pre-regularization five-year ReT service for seniority.
"The five years of service rendered by ReTs before regularization shall not count for fixing their seniority." — Final Court Order
Case Title: Anwar Hussain Wani & Ors vs State of J&K, 2025
Counsel:
For Petitioners – Adv. Tasaduq H. Khawja with Abdul Muizz
For Respondents – Sr. Adv. Z.A. Shah with Hakim Aman Ali and A. Hanan
