Teachers above 50 years of age exempted from 'excess teacher' transfers: Karnataka HC
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that female teachers aged over 50 and male teachers above 55 are exempted in law from being considered as 'excess teachers' during the process of rationalisation and redeployment in other schools.
This decision enforces Section 10(1)(vi) of the Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Teachers) Act, 2020, which mandates that authorities must honour this provision.
The court's decision came while dismissing the appeals filed by the Department of School Education, which had challenged the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal's orders. These orders had quashed the transfer of two teachers, Umadevi Hundarkar and Prabhavati Ronad, from their high schools in Bagalkot district on the grounds of being 'excess teachers'.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice S G Pandit, emphasised that such beneficial provisions must be implemented in favour of eligible teachers, regardless of whether they have specifically requested it. The bench highlighted that this statutory provision grants a right to the teachers to be protected under the Act.
The court also noted that the two teachers should not have been classified as excess and transferred, especially after they highlighted the relevant Act provisions. Upholding the tribunal's decision, the court underscored that age-based exemptions are a long-established practice and that the authorities should have considered the teachers' valid and timely representations.
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Leopard that killed 8-year-old boy caught after weeks in Thane
Thane (PTI): Forest officials on Sunday captured a leopard that mauled an eight-year-old child to death nearly a month ago in Shahapur of Maharashtra’s Thane district.
The predator walked into one of the cages set up in the area late Saturday night, ending weeks of panic in several villages in the region, an official from the Dolkhamb division of the forest department said.
"The captured leopard will undergo a thorough medical examination before any further decision is taken regarding its relocation or release," he said.
Senior inspector Suresh Gavit from the Kasara police station confirmed the development, stating that the forest department had successfully secured the animal.
Following the news of the capture, a video surfaced on social media showing a large crowd of villagers, including children, cheering and following the vehicle carrying the caged leopard.
The capture comes as a major relief to the area, which had been on edge since April 16, when the big cat killed an eight-year-old boy.
Krishna Bhaga Agiwale, a resident of Kalbhonde in the Kasara range, had ventured into a forest patch near his house to collect wild fruits when the leopard pounced on him, dragged him into the thicket and killed him on the spot.
