Tribunal directs appointment of Delhi government guest teacher to MCD primary teacher post after extending age relaxation; says benefit cannot be denied merely because she served as a guest teacher under GNCTD
New
Delhi, August 11, 2026: In a
significant ruling concerning recruitment and age relaxation for long-serving
guest teachers, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Principal Bench,
New Delhi, has held that a Guest Teacher working under the Directorate
of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD), is entitled to claim age
relaxation while seeking appointment to a teaching post in the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD), subject to fulfilment of the prescribed
conditions of continuous service.
The
Tribunal held that there cannot be an “artificial distinction” between a
Guest Teacher and a Contract Teacher for the purpose of age relaxation
where the candidate has rendered the requisite continuous service.
The
ruling came in Chhavi Sharma v. Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board
(DSSSB) & Anr., O.A. No. 283/2022, decided by a Bench comprising Judicial
Member Manish Garg and Administrative Member Dr. Anand S. Khati. The matter
was reserved on July 6, 2026, and the judgment was pronounced on July 30, 2026.
Advocates
Shubham Bahl and Anuj Aggarwal appeared for the applicant, Chhavi Sharma.
GNCTD guest teacher selected for MCD post but denied
appointment
The
case arose out of recruitment to the post of Teacher (Primary) in the MCD,
under Post Code 16/17, which was subsequently superseded by Post Code 01/18.
Sharma
had successfully participated in the recruitment process and was provisionally
selected. However, she was ultimately denied appointment on the ground that she
had crossed the prescribed upper age limit.
Her
case before the Tribunal was that she had been continuously working as a Guest
Teacher under the Directorate of Education, GNCTD, since September 3, 2012,
and was therefore entitled to age relaxation on the strength of the service
rendered by her.
She
contended that denying her the benefit merely because she had worked as a guest
teacher under GNCTD, while extending age relaxation to contractual teachers
working in MCD schools, was arbitrary and discriminatory.
Applicant relied on GNCTD’s age-relaxation policy
The
applicant placed reliance on the Office Memorandum dated June 11, 2019,
issued by the Government of NCT of Delhi, dealing with upper-age relaxation for
contractual employees working under the Delhi government at the time of regular
appointment through direct recruitment.
Her
contention was that the benefit of age relaxation was intended to protect
employees who had spent several years working for government institutions and
had become over-age during such service.
The
Tribunal examined the policy along with the relevant recruitment provisions and
the manner in which guest and contract teachers had been treated in different
recruitment exercises.
MCD opposed claim on ground that she was not its contract
teacher
The
MCD resisted the application and argued that the recruitment advertisement
specifically granted age relaxation to Contract Teachers (Primary) engaged
by the erstwhile North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations.
According
to the Corporation, Sharma had never served as an MCD contract teacher. She had
instead worked as a Guest Teacher under the Directorate of Education, GNCTD,
and therefore could not claim the relaxation meant for contractual teachers of
the municipal corporations.
The
Corporation further maintained that the applicant was over-age on the relevant
cut-off date and that provisional selection did not confer an indefeasible
right to appointment.
DSSSB said applicant had cleared the merit cut-off
DSSSB
informed the Tribunal that its role was confined to conducting the selection
process and forwarding the dossiers of provisionally selected candidates to the
user department.
The
Tribunal recorded that Sharma had obtained 123.30 marks, which were
higher than the prescribed UR-category cut-off of 117.52 marks, and she
had consequently been shortlisted for uploading her e-dossier.
The
dispute, therefore, essentially centred on whether her service as a GNCTD Guest
Teacher could be taken into account for extending age relaxation for
appointment to an MCD post.
CAT rejects distinction based merely on nature of engagement
While
analysing the issue, the Tribunal noted that the relevant rules were silent on
whether a Guest Teacher could be regarded as a departmental candidate for
appointment to the post of Primary Teacher in MCD.
The
Bench also took note of recruitment provisions applicable to teaching posts
under the Directorate of Education, where Guest Teachers and Contract
Teachers had been treated at par for one-time upper-age relaxation.
The
Tribunal observed that the Government's age-relaxation policy linked the
concession with the actual period of service rendered and prescribed a maximum
relaxation of five years, subject to fulfilment of the stipulated number of
working days.
It
further noted that MCD had engaged teachers on a contractual basis, while
the Directorate of Education, GNCTD, had engaged teachers both as Guest
Teachers and Contract Teachers. The rules did not expressly prescribe any
adverse treatment for Guest Teachers merely because of the nomenclature under
which they were engaged.
‘Artificial distinction’ between Guest and Contract Teachers
impermissible
In
its central finding, the Tribunal held that the expression “continuous
service” appearing in the relevant framework had to receive a harmonious
interpretation.
The
Bench held that once a teacher was able to demonstrate the requisite continuous
service, the benefit of age relaxation could not be denied merely because she
had been designated as a “Guest Teacher” rather than a “Contract Teacher”.
The
Tribunal categorically observed that “there cannot be an artificial distinction
between the Guest Teacher and the Contract Teacher” while applying the
requirement of continuous service.
On
that basis, the CAT held that Sharma, despite having worked as a Guest Teacher
under the Directorate of Education, GNCTD, was entitled to the benefit
of age relaxation while participating in recruitment for the MCD Primary
Teacher post.
Tribunal directs MCD to offer appointment
Allowing
the Original Application, the Tribunal directed the respondents to offer
appointment to Sharma after extending to her the benefit of age relaxation.
The
CAT clarified that the appointment would be treated as a fresh appointment
and could be adjusted against future vacancies. Alternatively, the authorities
were permitted to accommodate her by creating a supernumerary post,
depending upon administrative convenience.
All
pending miscellaneous applications were also disposed of, with no order as
to costs.
Ruling significant for long-serving GNCTD Guest Teachers
The
judgment is significant for Guest Teachers working under the Delhi government's
Directorate of Education who seek appointment through direct recruitment to
teaching posts in the MCD.
The
ruling makes it clear that, at least in the context of the recruitment and
policy examined by the Tribunal, service rendered as a Guest Teacher under
GNCTD cannot be excluded from consideration for age relaxation in an MCD
recruitment merely because MCD describes its own temporary teachers as
“Contract Teachers”.
The
decision emphasises the actual nature and continuity of service rather than
the label attached to the engagement, and could therefore have implications
for similarly situated Guest Teachers who have become over-age after serving
for several years in Delhi government schools.
https://advocateanujaggarwal.com/home.php
Anuj
Aggarwal
Advocate
K-17,
2nd Floor, Jangpura Extension,
New
Delhi - 110014
483,
Block-2, Lawyers Chambers,
Delhi
High Court, New Delhi-110003
Mobile
– 9891403206
Landline
– 011 - 35554905
Email – anujaggarwal1984@gmail.com
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