PUSPA KANTA GOGOI Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is aggrieved by Annexure-D order dated 17.11.2011 by which the Inspector of Schools, Karbi Anglong District Circle, Diphu allowed the respondent No. 5 to act as Principal In-Charge of Bokajan Higher Secondary School. The petitioner is aggrieved by the said order because prior to issuance of the same, he was holding the charge of Principal as senior most Assistant Teacher of the School. In fact, presently also he is holding the charge in view of the interim order dated 25.11.2011 operating in this proceeding. Be it stated here that while the petitioner is Assistant Teacher in Graduate Cadre, the respondent No. 5 is a Subject Teacher. As per the requirement of the provisions of the Rules, namely Assam Secondary Education (Provincialised) Service Rules, 2003, recruitment to the post of Principal in Higher Secondary School is to be made from both the cadres of Assistant Teacher (Graduate) and Post Graduate Teacher as the feeder grades. The only distinctive feature is that while for the Assistant Teacher in the Graduate Cadre, the prescribed service experience is 17 years, for a Post Graduate Teacher the service experience is 15 years.

(2.) In the instant case, going by the length of service, it is the petitioner who is senior to the respondent No. 5. While the petitioner was appointed as Assistant Teacher in the Graduate Cadre on 24.05.1979, the respondent No. 5 was appointed as Subject/Post Graduate Teacher on 18.07.1988. However, the impugned order dated 17.11.2011 was passed allowing the respondent No. 5 to hold the charge of the Principal on the analogy that he is in higher cadre of Subject/Post Graduate Teacher and in the said cadre he is the senior most teacher. This aspect of the mater has been dealt with by this Court in a batch of writ petitions, first one being W.P.(C) No. 4836/2011 (Trinayan Ch. Dutta Vs. State of Assam and orders) disposed of on 21.03.2012. By the said judgment and order passed in the batch of writ petitions, it has been held that since the Rules do not provide for any distinction in the matter of recruitment to the post of Principal between the two cadres of teacher, namely the Assistant Teacher in the Graduate Cadre and the Subject Teacher, the incumbents of both the cadres are eligible for recruitment to the post of Principal. It has also been held that in the matter of holding charge, irrespective of the cadre to which the incumbents belong to, the seniority will have to be determined on the basis of the provisions of Rule 24. Rule 24(1)(a) provides that in the matter of inter se seniority of the teachers of the Graduate Cadre and Post Graduate Cadre in a school, same shall be considered/determined on the basis of the date of continuation of service in the school irrespective of Graduate and Post Graduate Post on regular basis.

(3.) The aforesaid notion of the respondents towards passing the impugned order is well reflected in the counter affidavit filed by the respondents, both official as well as private. However, during the course of hearing of this Case, the official and the private respondents have developed a new case of loss of seniority by the petitioner on account of his transfer to the present school about 23 years back. He was so transferred by order dated 4.11.1989. The order does not reflect anything about request transfer and loss of seniority etc. For a ready reference, the order is reproduced below: