Protest on Mobile Tower: Get medical examination done of 2 protesting teachers, HC directs UT

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The court also asked amicus curiae Tanu Bedi to press upon the two persons, Fazilka native Deepak Kumar, 35, and Gurdaspur resident Rakesh Kumar, 30, to get their medical examination done.

However, the court was not amused with the response shown by the Elementary Teachers’ Union members as two of them had climbed upon the mobile tower and their union leaders Amarjeet Kamboj and Kamal Thakur have not shown their face despite the court’s request so that they can put forth their issues before the court.

Advocate Bedi, however, informed the court that the union members were saying that they had never told the two persons to climb upon the mobile tower and that they were anguished at the government’s lackadaisical approach in filling up the vacant elementary teachers’ posts.

Bedi submitted that though the two persons have been on the mobile tower for a month and other union members have been agitating for long, the Punjab government did not even take the initiative to request the High Court for vacation of its stay on de-reservation of elementary teachers’ posts. The court was informed that a coordinate bench of the High Court had put stay on de-reservation of the unfilled reserved vacancies for transferring them to the general quota.

The Punjab government had earlier informed the court that out of the 4,500 posts earlier advertised, around 620 posts are reserved for ex-servicemen, sportspersons and backward classes are still vacant. Also, out of 2,005 posts, there are some reserved posts which are likely not to be filled due to unavailability of the reserved category candidates. Hence the process to get them de-reserved so as to fill them from the general category is underway.

On this, the Punjab government counsel submitted, “We are soon going to file an application before court for vacation of stay.” But he added that the protesting teachers should not be allowed to hold the government to ransom. The court has now directed Punjab government to file a detailed affidavit on the next date of hearing on December 6.