RADHESWAR LANGTHASA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This bunch of writ petitions revolve around the same question of law with minor variations in individual facts. Accordingly, as agreed to by the learned counsel for the parties, these writ petitions were clubbed to be heard and disposed of together. These matters were heard on 19/12/2023, 9/1/2024, 11/1/2024, 23/1/2024, 1/2/2024, 20/2/2024, 27/2/2024 and 05.03.2024and accordingly, are disposed of by this common Judgment and Order.

(2.) In all these writ petitions, the Office Memorandum dtd. 18/1/2023 issued has been put to challenge. The writ petitioners along with the various reserved categories namely ST(H) and ST(P) urged that clauses (iii) and (iv) of the impugned OM dtd. 18/1/2023 are contrary to law as the same are violative of and runs counter to the Judgment and Order dtd. 6/6/2022 passed by a Co-ordinate Bench in Bhagawan Pator Vs. State of Assam and Ors.: 2022(3) glt 520: [W.P.(C) No. 5005/2016] as well as Ivy Gohain Dasgupta Vs. Bhagawan Pator and Ors. 2023(4) GLT 864: (W.A. No. 46/2023).

(3.) Mr. D.K. Das, learned counsel for the writ petitioners would address this Court as a counsel for the writ petitioners that the questions of law and the issues raised are similar in all these bunch of writ petitions barring certain factual details. Mr. Das has submitted that W.P.(C) No. 363/2023 would be the case on which he would like to base his arguments upon. Accordingly, W.P(C) No. 363/2023 is taken up as a lead case.