Page No.# 1/16 GAHC010120462023 undefined THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WA/396/2023 SUMITRA DEWRY AND 60 ORS W/O SRI HARKANTA MOCHAHARY R/O VILL- BARAMA, P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA, ASSAM, PIN - 781333. 2: SRI SUKLA MOCHAHARY S/O SRI MAHESWAR MOCHAHARY R/O VILL- DALBARI P.O. DALBARI DIST. BASKA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 3: SMTI. DAMONTI BASUMATARY D/O LATE GENTHAI BASUMATARY R/O VILL- UDUGOAN P.O. NIMUA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 4: SRI KALA RAM MOCHAHARY S/O LT. PRATAP CH.MOCHAHARY R/O VILL- BARKHUA P.O. KHARUA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 5: SRI DILIP BARMAN C/O SRI GOPESH DAS R/O VILL- NIZ ZULUKI P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM Page No.# 2/16 PIN - 781333. 6: MISS MINU DAS D/O LT. BALAK DAS R/O VILL- ROUMARI P.O. SAMUGUTI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 7: SRI SUMI BRAHMA D/O DINESH BARHMA R/O IVLL- BANGALIPARA P.O. NIZ BANGALIPARA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 8: SRI RAHUL KALITA S/O KAMALESWAR KALITA R/O VILL- BILPAR P.O. SATHISAMUKHA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 9: SMTI. USHA DEWRY D/O NANDESWAR DEWRY R/O VILL- BANGOAN P.O. BARAMCHARY DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 10: MD. CHANDMAHAMAD ALI S/O MAKIBAR RAHMAN R/O VILL- GERUA P.O. GARUA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 11: SMTI. SIKHA KALITA W/O SRI DEBEN CH. KALITA R/O VILL- GELPEJAR Page No.# 3/16 P.O.MERKUCHI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 12: SRI DIGANTA CHAKRABARTY S/O SRI BANI KT. CHAKRABARTY R/O VILL- BARAMA P.O. BARMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 13: SMTI. KRISHNA KALITA S/O SACHIN KALITA R/O VILL- BRAHMA P.O. BARMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 14: SRI NALINI KT. BHATTACHARJYA S/O LT. BANI KT. BHATTACHARJYA R/O VILL- NIZ JULUKI P.O. BARMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 15: MISS. GAYATRI CHETRY D/O LATE SURJYA BAHADUR CHETRY R/O VILL- GOPINATHPUR P.O. KUMARIKATA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 16: SMTI. NANDITA GOSWAMI W/O SRI MONOJ KR. SARMAH R/O VILL- DAKAUNIA P.O. GOBARADAL DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 17: MISS. RINGKUMANI TALUKDAR D/O BINOY KR. TALUKDAR R/O VILL- LABDUNGURI PATHAR Page No.# 4/16 P.O. LABDUNGURI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 18: SMTI. JAYANTI MOCHAHARY D/O SRI NARESWAR MOCHAHARY R/O VILL- AND P.O. DALBARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 19: SRI SANKAR MEDHI S/O LT. TARANI MEDHI R/O VILL AND P.O. KALZAR DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 20: SRI MITHISAR GWRA NARZARY S/O SRI THANESWAR NARZERA R/O VILL AND P.O. CHECHAPANI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 21: SRI SAGAR RAMCHIARY S/O CHANDRA KT. RAMCHIARY R/O VILL- UTTARPARA P.O. BAGANPARA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 22: SMTI. DIPALI KALITA W/O PHANIDHAR KALITA R/O VILL- BARZAR P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 23: SMTI. SANGEETA DEKA D/O ANIL DEKA R/O VILL- BARJHAR P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM Page No.# 5/16 PIN - 781333. 24: MISS. JANUTA DEUWRY D/O NANDESWAR DEUWRY R/O VILL- BANGAON P.O. BARAMCHARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN- 781333. 25: SMTI. ALOKA DAS W/O SRI SUKLA MOCHAHARY R/O VILL AND P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 26: SRI BENUDHAR DAS S/O RATNESWAR DAS R/O VILL- NIZ JULUKI P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 27: SRI KULAJIT DEWRY R/O VILL- BONGOAN P.O. BARAMCHARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 28: SRI PARESH KALITA R/O VILL- DAKUNIA P.O. GABARADAL DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 29: SMTI. RUBI BHATTA W/O NALINI KANTA BHATTACHARYYA R/O VILL- ZULUKI P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. Page No.# 6/16 30: SRI TILAK CH. ROY S/O JADU RAM ROY R/O VILL- BUNMAJA P.O. BUN MUN KHATA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 31: SRI RAJEN MOCHAHARY S/O BAGUN MOCHARAY R/O VILL AND P.O. DALBARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 32: SRI SURANJITA KALITA R/IO VILL- BHOGPUR P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 33: SRI BHUPEN SWARGIARY S/O KHOGEN SWARGIARY R/O VILL- KOKLABARI P.O. DALBARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 34: MISS. MAIJAN BEGUM D/O MAZNUR ALI R/O VILL- RATANPUR P.O. DIGHELI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 35: SMTI. RITU BASUMATARY W/O SRI CHAMPAK BORO R/O VILL- ALGIHAR P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. Page No.# 7/16 36: SMTI. KANCHAN GAYARI D/O LT. JOY RAM GAYARI R/O VILL AND P.O. BAGHMARA BARBARI L.P. SCHOOL DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 37: SRI MRINAL KUMAR DAS S/O LT. PRAFFULA KR. DAS R/O VILL- UZAN BARBARI P.O. KADAIGURI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 38: MD. AIJUDDIN AHMED S/OLT. AKBAR ALI R/O VILL- RATANPUR P.O. DHEGELI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 39: SMTI. JURI KALITA D/O JIBAN CH. KALITA R/O VILL- BHOGPUR P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 40: MISS. BASANTI BORO D/O SRI MEBAO BORO R/O VILL- BAMUNDABA P.O. MEDAGHAT DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 41: SMTI. MINATI NARZARY W/O SRI THANESWAR NARZARY R/O VILL- HAZIRA P.O. BENNABARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM Page No.# 8/16 PIN - 781333. 42: SMTI. MOHINI BASUMATARY D/O LT.NARAYAN BASUMATARY R/O VILL- CHOUDHURYPARA P.O.KOKLABARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 43: SRI HITESH TALUKDAR S/O SRI MAHENDRA TALUKDAR R/O VILL- KADAIGURI P.O. KADOIGURI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 44: SMTI. RITA SWARGIARY D/O KALARAM SWARGIARY R/O VILL- HATIRTARI P.O. ATHIABARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 45: SMTI PRAMILA RAMCHIARY D/O KARUNA RAMCHIARY R/O VILL- KHAMRIGOAN P.O. DHANBIL DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 46: SMTI. BARNALI SARMA W/O ARUP BARO R/O VILL- AND P.O. MURMELA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 47: SRI APURBA BARMAN S/O UDAY BARMAN R/O VILL- PUB BARJHAR P.O. BARMA Page No.# 9/16 DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 48: SMTI. DEPANJALI MEDHI D/O TARANI MEDHI R/O VILL-KALJHAR P.O. BARMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 49: SRI CHANDAN KALITA S/O JIBAN CH. KALITA R/O VILL- BHOGPUR (NAKTIPRA) P.O. BARMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 50: SRI BIRESWAR BASUMATARY S/O LT. MELORAM BORO R/O VILL- BARAIGOAN P.O. TAMULPUR DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 51: MD. ABDUL MANNAF ALI S/O ABDUL KADIR ALI VILL- MAKHARIA P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 52: SMTI. GITANJALI KALITA W/O SRI TARUN BARMAN R/O VILL- ALAGZAR P.O. BARAMA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 53: SRI GOJEN DAS S/O SRI RAMESH DAS R/O VILL AND P.O. SAUDARVITHA Page No.# 10/16 DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 54: SMTI. MANJU BARO D/O DHARMESWAR BARO R/O VILL AND P.O. MURMELA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 55: SRI BIBEK NATH S/O SRI NAGEN NATH R/O VILL- UTTAR BARTARY P.O. ANADA BAZAAR DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 56: SRI AKHIL BORO S/O SRI NAGEN CH. BORO R/O VILL- RANGAFALI P.O. NAHERBARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 57: SMTI. MANIMA DEWRY D/O SRI RUPNATH DEWRY R/O VILL- BANGOAN P.O. BARAMCHARI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 58: SMTI. BEAUTY DAS D/O SRI MAHENDRA DAS R/O VILL AND P.O. SAUKUCHI DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 59: SRI NALIN MOCHAHARY S/O MONI MOCHAHARY R/O VILL AND P.O. DABARI Page No.# 11/16 DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 60: SMTI. LATIFA CHETRY W/O LT. SURJA BAHADUR CHETRY R/O VILL- GOPINATHPUR P.O. KUMARIKATA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333. 61: MISS. ANJALI GOYARY D/O SRI HARENDRA NATH GOYARY R/O VILL- UDUGOAN P.O. NIMUA DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333 VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 11 ORS. REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, EDUCATION (ELEMENTARY) DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI - 6 2:THE COMMISSONER AND SECRETARY TO THE WPT AND BC DEPARTMENT GOVT. OF ASSAM DISPUR GUWAHATI -06. 3:THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-06. 4:THE SECRETARY FINANCE (SIU) (DEPARTMENT) DISPUR GUWAHATI-06. Page No.# 12/16 5:THE BODOLAND TERRITORIAL COUNCIL REP. BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY BTC KOKRAJHAR ASSAM PIN - 783370. 6:THE ADDITIONAL PRINICPAL SECRETARY BTC KOKRAJHAR ASSAM PIN - 783370. 7:THE SECRETARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT BTC KOKRAJHAR ASSAM PIN- 783370. 8:THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION BTC KOKRAJHAR ASSAM PIN - 783370. 9:THE DISTRICT ELEMENTARY EDUCATION OFFICER MUSHALPUR DIST. BAKS ASSAM PIN - 781333. 10:THE DEPUTY INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS BAKSA MUSHALPUR DIST. BAKSA ASSAM Page No.# 13/16 PIN - 781333. 11:THE B.E.E.O. BAKSA MUSHALPUR/ TIHU-BARAMA/ JALAH- GOBARDHANA/ GORESWAR/ TAMULPUR DIST. BAKSA ASSAM PIN - 781333 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A R BHUYAN, MR. R M CHOUDHURY (R-1,2,25),MR. M A I HUSSAIN,N ISLAM Advocate for the Respondent : SC, ELEM. EDU, SC, WPT AND BC,GA, ASSAM,SC, BTC,SC, FINANCE DEPTT. – B E F O R E – HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. ASHUTOSH KUMAR HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA 24.07.2025 (Ashutosh Kumar, CJ) We have heard Mr. A.R. Bhuyan, learned Advocate for the appellants and Mr. S. Bora, learned Standing Counsel for the BTC. 2. This is an appeal in a very strange set of facts. 3. The appellants claim that against an advertisement issued in the year 2002, they had applied for being selected/appointed on the posts of Assistant Teachers in schools under Baksa District falling under the territorial and administrative jurisdiction of Bodoland Territorial Council (hereinafter referred to as BTC”). Their names found mention in the Select List. Since the recruitment was not being made against the Select List, the appellants had approached this Court and had obtained a direction that the appointments be made from the Select List, in order of merit but subject to the Reservation Policy. Page No.# 14/16 4. Pursuant to such a direction, the appellants were appointed. 5. Some of the persons who were not recruited, put up a challenge against the appointment of the appellants and filed a writ petition before this Court, in which an order was passed sometimes in 2016 staying the appointment orders of the appellants. Thereafter, the Director of Education, BTC had issued notice to the appellants asking them to reply as to why their appointment orders be not cancelled and later by separate orders the appointment of the appellants were cancelled. 6. Challenging the afore-noted termination/cancellation of the appointment of the appellants, the appellants came up before this Court, vide writ petition number WP(C) 6328/2018. The learned Single Judge however found that the BTC had asked the appellants only to furnish documents to substantiate their claim that they were appointed against regular posts, as there was no official record of any such process having been undertaken in the past. 7. Though an effort was made to procure evidence of the process having been initiated and the appellants having been declared successful, but there was no corresponding record in the office of the Education Department of BTC. In the records of the Education Department, the only document of substance which was available was a Notification for Advertisement. 8. After giving a thoughtful consideration of the matter, the learned Single Judge, expressing his regret that neither the appointment of the appellants nor the cancellation of their appointments could be said to be justified, concluded that there was no record of any employment advertisement which would have had in any way reached out to the public at large or anything to suggest that the process was undertaken on which date. Right from the beginning to the end Page No.# 15/16 of the recruitment process, there was no record. 9. As we said earlier, this is not only strange but pathetic state of affairs. 10. The learned Single Judge could not have passed any other judgment in these set of facts. 11. Mr. Bhuyan, learned Advocate has submitted that the employer is the custodian of records and merely because the records of the recruitment process is not preserved in the office, there cannot be any assumption of fraud on the part of the appellants. The blame should only be thrown on the employer and not on them. 12. Under such circumstances, the learned Single Judge, it has been argued, ought to have extended the scope of hearing of the writ petition and should have called for a report from the respective department of BTC or should have ordered for an inquiry in the matter. 13. We are of the view that in a case of this kind, an inquiry should have been conducted as to how there was in existence, at the time when the matter reached the Court for the first time, a Select List against which no recruitment was being made. Later, the attention of this Court was drawn to another writ petition challenging the appointment of the appellants, when on certain considerations, the operation of the appointment orders were stayed. It was only thereafter that inquiry was made from the respective appellants about documents to prove that the appellants had participated against a recruitment process and had come out successful. 14. We do not know who is to be blamed. However, under the circumstances, as we have already noted, there was no other way in which the learned Single Judge could have decided the case. We, expressing our surprise, dismiss this Page No.# 16/16 appeal and only observe O tempora, o mores. JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE Comparing Assistant