The Allahabad High Court has levied a fine of ₹100 each on 6,402 petitioners for filing a petition related to the TET-based selection process, a matter that had already been conclusively decided by the Supreme Court. The High Court described such cases as instances of "luxury litigation."
A group of writ petitions was filed by candidates who had cleared the Teachers Eligibility Test (Primary Level) Examination in 2011, with results announced in 2011 and 2015. The petitioners sought a directive to the respondents/State Government to initiate the selection process as per the advertisement dated December 7, 2012, issued by the Department of Basic Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh.
The Single Bench of Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery observed, “In present circumstances, Court is constraint to observe that these litigations appear to be luxury litigations since issues raised in present bunch of writ petitions have already been settled by Supreme Court in Shiv Kumar Pathak (supra) and petitioners (6402 in numbers) in all writ petitions were also conscious of these facts, and decision of Shiv Kumar Pathak (supra) still they have filed present writ petitions, therefore, all Writ petitioners shall pay Rs.100/- each as cost since these litigations has wasted crucial time of this Court.”
The Bench noted that the Supreme Court, in State of U.P. & Ors vs. Shiv Kumar Pathak & Ors (2018), had already settled the issue of using TET marks as the sole criterion for selection. With 66,655 teachers already appointed, the Court ruled that further recruitment should follow a fresh advertisement. As the petitioners’ plea contradicted this ruling, the High Court rejected their request.
The Court further added, “The cost shall be paid within a week before High Court Bar Association, Allahabad and compliance affidavit shall be filed which will be kept in records of this writ petitions. In case of default, Registrar General of this Court is directed to take appropriate steps for recovery from deponent/pairokar of each Writ Petitions.”
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