BISWAJEET DEY Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The eight petitioners have filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to regularise their service and to release their arrears as well as current salaries with effect from 16.09.1996. The case of the petitioners is that pursuant to an advertisement in local newspaper issued by the Education Department, Government of Assam in the year 1991, inviting application from eligible candidates for appointment as Assistant Teachers for Primary School, they had applied for the same. The Sub-Divisional Lower Primary Advisory Board that was constituted, on receipt of the applications submitted by the candidates including the petitioners, had conducted interviews from 25.11.1991 to 03.12.1992 under the supervision of the respondent No. 3. The petitioners were selected in such interview for appointment as Assistant Teachers for Primary Schools at Hojai Sub-Division. Accordingly, the respondent No. 3 issued appointment orders to the petitioners in various Lower Primary Schools where there were vacancies due to expiry/retirement and transfer of teachers, in the months of May, June, July and August of 1995 on a fixed pay of Rs. 900/- P.M., for a period of three months. It is, further, the case of the petitioners that they had, accordingly, joined as Assistant Teachers and their services were extended on 30.03.1996 until further order till a decision was taken by the Elementary Education Advisory Board, Hojai.

(2.) The petitioners have stated that they were not paid their salaries, and on the contrary, were issued orders by which their orders of appointments were stayed until further order. The petitioners had approached this Court by means of a writ application, which was registered as Civil Rule No. 4946 of 1996 and this Court, by Judgment and order dated 31.3.1998, had disposed of the application by setting aside the orders impugned as well as by giving a direction to the concerned authorities to pay their salaries. This Court also directed that the Government shall take early steps for filing up of the vacancies after re-advertisement and at the time of a regular selection, the cases of the petitioners, if applied for such posts, would be considered. However, the aforesaid direction of this Court was not implemented and the petitioners are still working in their respective Schools in which they were initially appointed. An interview was held in pursuance of the letter dated 16.12.1998 in which all the petitioners had participated before the Sub-Divisional Screening Committee constituted to regularise the services of those who were appointed on ad hoc basis.

(3.) It is farther pleaded that the respondent No. 2 had forwarded a list dated 31.8.2002 containing the particulars of Lower Primary School Teachers whose names were referred to Monoharan Committee under Hojai Sub-Division and the names of the petitioners also figured in the said list and their documents were verified by the said Committee and their appointment was found to be legal.