Page No.# 1/5 GAHC010108422021 2025:GAU-AS:1138 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/4748/2021 ASSAM HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, AND ANR HAVING ITS REGISTERED OFFICE AT NARENDRA CHANDRA DUTTA SMITI BHAWAN, TARUN NAGAR, GUWAHATI 05 REPRESENTED BY ITS PRESIDENT, SRI RUPESWAR DEKA,S/O LT. MANILA DEKA RESIDENT OF VILLAGE MIKIR BHATA, PO AND PS MIKIR BHATA, DIST MORIGAON, ASSAM 782106 2: ANAWAR HUSSAIN S/O LATE TAIB ALI AHMED VILLAGE AND PO MANGLA DIST BARPETA ASSAM 781319 I/C SECRETARY ASSAM HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIO VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM , AND 3 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT (SECONDARY) SACHIVALAYA, DISPUR GUWAHATI 06 2:THE DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSAM KAHILPARA GUWAHATI 781019 3:THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVT.OF ASSAM FINANCE DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI 781006 4:DIRECTOR OF PENSION Page No.# 2/5 ASSAM HOUSEFED DISPUR GUWAHATI 78100 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR P BHARDWAJ, MR. M SARMA,MR. A BARKATAKI,MR. T N SRINIVASAN,MR. M K CHOUDHURY Advocate for the Respondent : SC, SEC. EDU., SC, FINANCE DEPTT.,SC, AG BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA ORDER Date : 05.02.2025 Heard Mr. M. Sarma, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. B. Kaushik, learned Standing Counsel, Secondary Education Department for the respondent No.2 and Ms. R.M. Barooah, learned Standing Counsel, Finance Department for the respondent No.3. 2. The case of the petitioners is that the venture schools of the petitioners were all provincialized in the year 2012, 2013 and 2014, in terms of the Assam Venture Educational Institutions (Provincialisation of Services) Act, 2011 (hereinafter referred to ‘2011 Act’). 3. The petitioners further case is that the New Defined Pension Scheme came into effect from 01.02.2005 and in view of the fact that the members of the petitioners association had been provincialized, by taking into account the past services of the teachers on the ventures schools, the New Defined Pension Scheme could not be made applicable to the petitioners as the Assam Services (Pension) Rules, 1969 should govern the petitioners case. 4. Mr. B. Kaushik, learned Standing Counsel, Secondary Education Department for the respondent No.2 submits that in terms of the 2011 Act, a provincialized school means a Venture Educational Institutions wherein the Page No.# 3/5 services of the employees are provincialized under the 2011 Act. He also submits that in terms of the provisions of 2011 Act, the employees of the provincialized schools shall be entitled to the salary and allowances w.e.f the date of provincialization of the services of the teachers and the past services rendered by them cannot be counted for any purpose whatsoever. He also submits that as per Section 5(2) of the 2011 Act, the persons whose services have been provincialized, shall be governed by New Defined Pension Scheme and not as per the Assam Services(Pension) Rules,1969. 5. I have heard the learned counsels for the parties. 6. The issue raised in the writ petition is as to whether the petitioners would be governed by the New Defined Pension Scheme, which came into effect from 01.02.2005 or the Assam Services(Pension) Rules,1969. 7. For a deliberation on the issue, Section 2(m), Section 4(1) and Section 5(2) of the 2011 Act have been reproduced here-in under as follows:- 2.(m) “Provincialised School” or Provincialised College” means a Venture Educational Institution wherein the services of employees are Provincialised under this Act; 4.(1) the services of the employees of all eligible Venture Educational Institutions under Section 3 shall be deemed to have been Provincialised on the date of coming into force of this Act and they shall become employees of the State Government with effect from that date, provided such institutions have completed at least [7] years of imparting education from the date of affiliation, recognition, concurrence or permission as the case may be, as on the date of coming into force of this Act; Page No.# 4/5 Provided that the services of those employees of the Venture Educational Ins8itutions eligible for provincialisation under Section 3 which have not completed [7] years of their imparting education from the date of their affiliation, recognition, concurrence or permission as the case may be, as on the date of coming into force of this Act, shall be Provincialised as and when the concerned educational institution completes [7] years of imparting education from the date of such affiliation, recognition, concurrence or permission, as the case may be;] 5(2) All such employees shall get such emoluments as salary and allowance as may be prescribed with effect from the date of provincialisation of their services and the past service rendered by then shall not be counted for any purpose whatsoever, and all such employees shall get same pay and allowances as if they are fresh appointees and in respect of pension, they shall be governed by the New Pension Scheme applicable to the State Government employees of the corresponding rank. 8. 8. A perusal of the above provisions of the 2011 Act shows that on provincialization of the services of the teachers, their past service rendered in the venture schools cannot be counted for any purpose whatsoever. All such employees are to get the same pay and allowances as if they are fresh appointees and in respect of pension, they are to be governed by the New Pension Scheme. 9. The petitioners having made a prayer for granting them old pension under the Assam Services (Pension) Rules, 1969, the same cannot be acceded to, keeping in view Section 4(1) and 5(2) of the 2011 Act, which were never put Page No.# 5/5 to challenge. 10. The above being said, the fact remains that the 2011 Act had been declared ultra vires by the judgment and order dated 23.09.2016 passed by this Court in WP(C) 3190/2012. In place of the 2011 Act, the State Government enacted the Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Re- organization of Educational Institutions) Act 2017 (hereinafter referred to as ‘2017, Act’). Section 8(2) of the 2017 Act states as follows:- (2) the teachers whose services have been provincliased under this Act shall get full scale of pay and such emoluments as salary and allowances as per norms of the State Government applicable to the employees of the corresponding rank with effect from the date of provincialization of their services, as if they are fresh appointees and they cannot claim any benefit whatsoever in respect of past services rendered by them before provincialisation and in respect of pension, they shall be governed by the New Pension Scheme applicable to the State Government teachers of the corresponding rank 11. A reading of Section 8(2) of the 2017 Act clearly shows that the services of the teachers who are provincialized under the 2017 Act, would also be governed by the New Pension Scheme and not by the Assam Services (Pension) Rules, 1969. 12. In view of the above reasons, this Court does not find any merit in this writ petition. 13. The writ petition stands dismissed. JUDGE Comparing Assistant