The Punjab and Haryana high court has quashed provisions of 2024 notification of the Haryana government that limited validity of State Teachers Eligibility Test (STET) certificates to future recruitments.
The HC bench of justice HS Brar said that the government erred in giving prospective effect to the August 6, 2024, notification and that the same was notified in direct conflict with the June 9, 2021, notification by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), which explicitly mandates retrospective application
Prior to 2024 notification, these certificates were valid for seven years. However, following the NCTE notification, the government in August 2024 announced that these certificates will have lifetime validity but for future recruitments.
The court was hearing pleas from Haryana Teachers Eligibility Test certificate (HTET) and STET certificate holders who had sought quashing of provisions in August 2024 notification that made such certificates valid for future recruitments only.
The court found that in June 2021, NCTE extended the validity of the TET certification to lifetime, subject to issuance of any notification by the appropriate governments. It specifically stated that lifetime validity of TET certification will be applicable retrospectively from 2011 when the guidelines were originally implemented.
The court observed that the government created a unique situation with 2024 notification, where the same HTET certificate, that is considered invalid for advertisements for recruitment issued prior to August 2024, becomes valid for selection processes initiated after the said date.
“…it is clear as day that the discretion claimed by the respondents was always limited to altering the length of the validity period. In other words, the state government did in fact possess the discretion to extend the validity of the TET certification, if it so chose, for as long as if preferred or for a shorter period, by passing an appropriate notification,” it remarked, rejecting the argument from the state that Centre had given discretion to the states on implementation of the policy.
The court said that respondent appears to have engaged in discrimination between the homogenous class of HTET certificate holders that are otherwise covered by the notification issued by the NCTE.
“…no intelligible differentia i.e., a clear criterion for grouping certain people together, and a rational nexus to the object it seeks to achieve, has been put forth by the respondents to render this artificial classification constitutionally valid. In absence thereof, such classification breaches of the promise of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” it said, adding that if a state-employer irrationally limits the zone of consideration, such action ought to be considered arbitrary in nature and in violation of both Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.