Patna, Feb. 15: The high court today quashed an order of the state government that provided reservation benefits to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions.

A single bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathitoday quashed the earlier order issued on August 12, 2014.

The government had refused to withdraw the order, pleading that the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.

After the government order was struck down by the high court the first time, the state government appealed in the apex court. The Supreme Court while accepting the case did not stay the Patna High Court's order.

According to Prasad, the general category employees had challenged the government order in the high court. The court stayed the government policy.

After that, the Bihar government filed a letters patent appeal (LPA) against the order of the single bench.

But the government lost the case. After the loss, the Bihar government challenged the order on the LPA in the Supreme Court, where the case is pending for hearing.

The high court bench passed the order on Monday after hearing both parties on a writ petition filed by Birendra Kumar Rai and others through advocate Sidharth Prasad.

The Supreme Court did not stay the order of Patna High Court. On Monday, at the time of hearing of the writ petition, the high court sought to know from the government how long the 2014 order would continue. The bench directed the government to provide promotions to eligible Bihar government employees within three months and quashed the older order.

Earlier, the bench directed principal secretary Amir Subhani to appear personally and file an affidavit over whether the government withdraws the 2014 order or not. Subhani told the court that the government will not withdraw its decision because the case is pending in Supreme Court.

In another case, a bench of the Patna High Court comprising acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari and Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singhtodayset aside a government order in which the government rejected a candidate for assistant teacher post in a government primary school who had completed his Matriculation and a two-year teachers' training course before 1995.

The orders were given after hearing on an LPA filed by Mohammad Mokin and others through advocate Fakruddin Ali hmad.

The petitioners are candidates for the post of Urdu teachers.

The court held that the government's order is illegal and unjustified. The court held that candidates who passed Matriculation examination and completed two-year teachers' training course before 1995 are eligible for assistant teacher posts in primary schools and directed the government to appoint eligible candidates to the vacant posts.