Page No.# 1/9 GAHC010223322021 2025:GAU-AS:13871 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/187/2022 ANIMA DEVI AND 14 ORS D/O LATE SADANANDA BOISHNAB, RESIDENT OF VILLAGE AMGURI, PO NORTH BOITAMARI, DIST BONGAIGAON, ASSAM, 783380 2: SABITA MAHANTA DAUGHTER OF LATE DHARANI KANTA MAHANTA RESIDENT OF VILLAGE RAGHUNANDANPUR P.O. BOITAMARI DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783389. 3: RAM KRISHNA NANDI SON OF LATE RADHESHYAM NANDI RESIDENT OF VILLAGE DUMURIA PART-1 P.O. LENGTISINGHA DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783384 4: ABDUL BARIK SHEIKH SON OF LATE JAFAR ALI SHEIKH RESIDENT OF VILLAGE NALDOBA P.O. BIDYAPUR DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783380. 5: SMRITA DUTTA DAUGHTER OF KANAILAL DUTTA RESIDENT OF VILLAGE NORTH BONGAIGAON WARD NO.13 P.O. BONGAIGAON Page No.# 2/9 DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783380. 6: HOR KUMAR BARMAN SON OF RAMESWAR BARMAN RESIDENT OF VILLAGE BAMUNITILA P.O. DHONTALA BAZAR DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783372. 7: JAKIR HUSSAIN SON OF REKIBUDDIN AHMED RESIDENT OF VILLAGE DHANTOLA P.O. DHANTOLA BAZAR DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783372. 8: ASHIS DAS SON OF LATE SIBENDRA BIJAY DAS RESIDENT OF VILLAGE NATUNPARA WARD NO.16 P.O. BONGAIGAON DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783380. 9: SIBU GHOSH SON OF DHIREN CHANDRA GHOSH RESIDENT OF VILLAGE BONGAIGAON BHAKARNITA WARD NO.7 P.O. BONGAIGAON DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783380 10: SAJAL DAS SON OF LATE JAGADISH CHANDRA DAS RESIDENT OF Page No.# 3/9 VILLAGE NATUNPARA WARD NO.10 P.O. BONGAIGAON DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783380. 11: ANUBRATA MALLICK SON OF LATE RAMENDRA CHANDRA MALLICK RESIDENT OF VILLAGE ABHAYAPURI TOWN WARD NO.3 (BASANTIPARA) P.O. BONGAIGAON DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783384. 12: RUPEN KALITA SON OF PUREN KALITA RESIDENT OF VILLAGE ABHAYAPURI WARD NO. IV M.G.ROAD P.O. BONGAIGAON DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783384 13: PRADIP KUMAR ARJYA SON OF HIRALAL ARJYA RESIDENT OF VILLAGE KIRTAN PARA P.O. KIRTAN PARA P.S. ABHAYA PURI DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783384 14: TULSHI BARMAN SON OF LATE DEBENDRA CHANDRA BARMAN RESIDENT OF VILLAGE SALBAGAN (GHOSHPARA) WARD NO.10 P.O. BONGAIGAON Page No.# 4/9 DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 783380 15: PARTHA PRATIM GHOSH SON OF LATE NARESH CHANDRA GHOSH RESIDENT OF VILLAGE SALBAGAN (GHOSHPARA) WARD NO.10 P.O. BONGAIGAON DISTRICT BONGAIGAON (ASSAM) PIN NO. 78338 VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, EDUCATION (ELEMENTARY) DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-6 2:THE DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION ASSAM KAHILIPARA GUWAHATI-19 3:THE DIRECTOR OF PENSION BANPHOOL NAGAR BASISTHPUR GUWAHATI PIN NO. 781006 4:THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM FINANCE DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI- Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S K DAS, MR R KARIM,MR D BARMAN Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, FINANCE,SC, ELEM. EDU Page No.# 5/9 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NELSON SAILO ORDER Date : 16.10.2025 Heard Mr. S. K. Das, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. P. K. Bora, learned Standing Counsel, Elementary Education Department, appears for the respondent Nos. 1 & 2; Ms. K. Phukan, learned Government Advocate, appears for the respondent No. 3 and Mr. R. Borpujari, learned Standing Counsel, Finance Department appears for the respondent No. 4. [2.] The fifteen petitioners are before this Court by way of this single writ petition with the contention that they have a common grievance and a common cause of action. The petitioners were all appointed as Assistant Teachers in either Middle English or Middle Vernacular Schools pursuant to the advertisement floated by the respondent authorities on 03.09.1991. The process of selection culminated into their appointments on different dates in the year 1993 and 1994. [3.] It is the case of the petitioners that they were appointed in the scale of pay and against sanctioned posts and after undergoing due selection process. Their services were regularized vide Order dated 30.01.2006 with effect from the date of joining in their services. The regularization process was preceded by an enquiry made by one man enquiry committee, headed by Shri S. Monoharan, IAS, since there was an allegation of anomalies in making excess appointment over and above the sanctioned post. It is, however, the case of the petitioners that they do not belong to the category of excess appointees and in fact they have been appointed against the existing posts with the appropriate pay scale. Page No.# 6/9 [4.] The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that at the time of regularizing of the services of the petitioners they were required to make an undertaking that having joined government services on or after 01.02.2005, they will not be covered by the Assam Services (Pension) Rules, 1969, but by the New Pension Rules being formulated in line with the Contributory Pension Scheme of the Government of India which is to be notified in due course. The learned counsel submits that the petitioners were not in a bargaining position and therefore they had to give an undertaking. He, however, submits that since the petitioners were appointed after due process against the sanctioned post in the year 1993 and 1994, they are to be governed by the Old Pension Rules of 1969, which was occupying the field from date of their regularization. The learned counsel draws support from decisions rendered in similar other writ petitions viz; being WP(C) No. 8694 of 2018, disposed of by vide Order dated 12.08.2021 (Sukumar Sarkar & 7 Ors. Vs State of Assam & 8 Ors.) and WP(C) No. 3662 of 2009, disposed of by Vide Order dated 28.04.2015 (Dilip Kumar Medhi & Ors. Vs. State of Assam & Ors.) amongst others. The learned counsel submits that the case of the petitioners being squarely covered by the earlier decisions and therefore similar benefit may be granted to them. He also submits that during the pendency of the writ petition, the writ petitioner Nos. 1, 3, 5, 9 & 10 have retired. The learned counsel, further submits that the State respondents in the Elementary Education Department themselves are aware of the fact that the petitioners are also entitled to be covered by the Old Pension Scheme and therefore, they are in the process of collecting detailed information of the employees who joined government services on or after 01.02.2005, but whose recruitment process had started prior to 01.02.2005. He therefore submits that appropriate directions may be issued to the respondents to extend Page No.# 7/9 the benefit of pension to the petitioners. [5.] Mr. R. Borpujari, learned Standing Counsel, Finance Department, on the other hand submits that a number of employees claiming the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme had approached this Court by filing their respective writ petitions and this Court had disposed of the writ petitions by way of a common Judgment and Order dated 31.03.2023 and the lead case being WP(C) No. 6403 of 2021 (Purnima Hore & Anr. Vs. State of Assam & 3 Ors.). Mr. Borpujari, submits that this Court had held that persons were appointed in excess of the sanctioned posts would not be entitled to be covered by the Old Pension Scheme and instead, would be covered by the New Pension Scheme. He submits that aggrieved with the decision of the Court, the petitioners approached a Division Bench of this Court by filing Writ Appeal No. 188 of 2023. The Writ Appeal was disposed of on 26.07.2024 after the Division Bench was informed that the State respondents were in the process of collecting data/particulars of the employees who had joined after 2005 but whose recruitment process started prior to 2005. The Division Bench observed that in view of such development, the Writ Appeal should be closed with liberty to the appellants to approach again in case the decision of the State Government was not in their favour. He therefore submits that the instant petitioners have directly come to this Court without approaching the respondent authorities and therefore, the petitioners should be relegated to approach the respondent authorities with appropriate applications to claim the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme. [6.] Mr. S. K. Das, learned counsel for the petitioners, in response submits that the petitioners do not belong to the category of excess teacher, which can be Page No.# 8/9 seen from the amount of salaries received by them. He submits that excess teachers are called Tutors and are 209 in numbers in the Bongaigaon district receiving a gross salary @ Rs.10,800/- and net salary @ Rs.10,611/-. The writ petitioners on the other hand are receiving gross salaries @ Rs.57,540/- and net salaries @ Rs.51,742/-. Therefore, they are entitled to be included amongst those teachers appointed during the subsistence of the Old Pension Scheme and given such benefit. [7.] I have considered the submissions made by the rival parties and I have perused the materials available on record. One aspect of the matter brought to the notice of this Court is the steps taken by the Elementary Education Department in collecting detailed information from the employees who joined services on or after 01.02.2005 but whose recruitment process was started prior to 01.02.2005. The same goes to indicate that an attempt has been made to identify and determine as to which of the employees would be covered by the Old Pension Scheme and who would be covered by the New Pension Scheme. In this regard, the learned counsel for the petitioners has produced a Communication dated 19.07.2025 issued by the Director of Elementary Education in respect of such kind of information, wherein name of some of the petitioners find place at Serial Nos. 3, 17, 18, 20-23, 25 and 26. Therefore, in view of such process being undertaken without further deliberating on the issue, liberty is granted to the petitioner to submit their service particulars and details before the Director of Elementary Education with a prayer for grant the benefits under the Old Pension Scheme within a period of fifteen (15) days from today. The Director, Elementary Education Department, upon receipt of such information shall consider the same and take necessary steps as may be required for ascertaining whether the petitioners will be governed by the Old Page No.# 9/9 Pension Scheme. Such decision should be taken within a period of three (3) months from the date of receipt of the representations along with a certified copy of this Order. In coming to a decision, the Director of Elementary Education shall also take into account the stand taken in Paragraph – 6 of the counter-affidavit filed by the said authority on 21.07.2023 admitting that the petitioners were appointed after following due process of law in terms of the advertisement. [8.] A copy of the Communication dated 19.07.2025 of the Director of Elementary Education to the Secretary to the Government of Assam, Department of School Education produced by the learned counsel for the petitioners, shall be retained in the record and marked as “X” for identification. [9.] With the above observations and directions, writ petition stands disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant