ALL BODOLAND AUTONOMOUS COUNCIL LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOL ENGLISH AND MOTHER TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Vs. BODOLAND TERRITORIAL COUNCIL AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The above two cases having arisen from same set of facts and are inter-dependent, I propose to dispose of them by this common judgment.

(2.) The petitioner is a registered association of All Bodoland Autonomous Council Lower Primary School English and Mother Teachers, Kokarjhar. After the Bodoland Autonomous Council Act, 1993 was enacted the interim bodoland executive council formulated education policy for the autonomous district. According to that policy one mother teacher for each provincialised/recognized L.P. School in autonomous council area shall be appointed at a fixed pay of Rs. 500 with effect from 1.1.1997. Similarly, one English L.P.T. school teacher for each such school at a fixed pay of Rs. 900 shall be appointed with effect from the same date. Pursuant to that policy the said interim council constituted Sub-Divisional Advisor Boards to select mother teachers and English teachers. The council appointed persons selected by the said board as English teacher and mother teacher in terms of the education policy aforementioned. In the letter of appointment of such teachers it has been clearly provided that they have been appointed against 'non-sanctioned' post and payment of salary would depend upon availability of fund. Such teachers received their pay only for initial period of two months. There after, their pay was withheld for undisclosed reason. Aggrieved by such arbitrary action they filed WP(C) No. 5700 of 2002, WP(C) No. 5701 of 2002 seeking a direction to the respondents to pay their salaries. By a common judgment and order dated 26.3.2004 the State of Assam and the newly constituted Bodoland Territorial Council ('BTC') were directed to release the salaries of the petitioner, both arrear and current, within a period of three months from the date of furnishing the certified copy of the judgment. A further direction was given to the State Government and the BTC to sit together and address the grievance of the petitioners by taking a decision on the issue.

(3.) The grievance of the petitioners is that the said direction was not complied with forcing them to file a contempt petition against the respondent concerned. However, after the judgment in the above two writ petitions was rendered on 26.3.2004 directing the respondents to release the salary, if payable, to the petitioners, both arrear and current, the BTC by an order dated 12.11.2004 terminated the services of all the mother teachers, English teachers and other employees for which no posts were sanctioned by the Government of Assam. It was further decided and expressed in the said order that BTC would not be liable to pay salary to persons appointed against such non-existent and non-sanctioned post. This order dated 12.11.2004 has been put under challenge in WP(C) No. 41571 of 2005.