Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010135242025 2025:GAU-AS:17062 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/3556/2025 PANKAJ KALITA S/O LATE S.C. KALITA, R/O GAYANTOLA (KALA BHABAN), P.O.- HAJO, P.S.- HAJO, DIST- KAMRUP, ASSAM VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, ENVIRONMENT AND FOREST DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-6 2:THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM ENVIRONMENT AND FOREST DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-6 3:THE PRINCIPAL CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS AND HEAD OF FOREST FORCE ASSAM PANJABARI GUWAHATI-6 4:THE DEPARTMENTAL PROMOTION COMMITTEE HEADED BY CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM DISPUR GUWAHATI- Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. J I BORBHUIYA, MR. L MOHAN Advocate for the Respondent : SC, FOREST, GA, ASSAM Page No.# 2/4 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KARDAK ETE ORDER Date : 10.12.2025 Heard Mr. J.I. Borbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. D. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel, Forest Department and Ms. S. Baruah, learned counsel appearing for the respondent No.4. 2. This writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to the respondent authorities to consider the petitioner for promotion to the post of Deputy Conservator of Forests in the Department of Environment and Forests, Government of Assam, on the ground that his juniors have already been granted promotion. 3. The petitioner was appointed as Forest Ranger in the Enviornment and Forest Department, Govt. of Assam in the year 1989. While serving as Forest Ranger, he was subjected to departmental proceedings and therefore, the case of the petitioner for promotion was put under sealed cover. The petitioner was exonerated from all charges vide order dated 27.06.2024. Thereafter, the respondent authorities vide order dated 10.09.2024, promoted the petitioner to the rank of Assistant Conservator of Forests against the existing vacancy. 4. It is the contention of the petitioner that the respondent authorities have promoted many juniors to the petitioner to the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests vide order dated 22.02.2024. Since the petitioner has been exonerated and promoted to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests and the juniors of the petitioners having been promoted, the petitioner submits that he may be promoted to the next higher rank of Deputy Conservator of Forest w.e.f. the date when his juniors were promoted. 5. Mr. J.I. Borbhuiyan, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that it is an undisputed fact that the petitioner is senior to one Sri Saidul Alam, who has been promoted to the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests, while the petitioner was subjected to disciplinary proceeding and the case of the petitioner under sealed cover. By now, the petitioner has been exonerated from all charges and has been promoted to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests. Therefore, the petitioner is Page No.# 3/4 entitled to be promoted to the next higher rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests w.e.f. the date when his junior was promoted i.e. 22.02.2024, by granting him promotion with retrospective effect. 6. The petitioner appears to have been promoted on 10.09.2024, to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests, in which he is presently serving and though the claim of the petitioner is for consideration for promotion to the post of Deputy Conservator of Forests, nothing is brought on record nor Recruitment Rule in place, which regulates the promotion to the post of Deputy Conservator of Forests to show that he is eligible to be considered for promotion. The promotion order dated 10.09.2024, does not indicate that the petitioner was granted the promotion to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests with retrospective effect i.e. from the date when his junior were stated to have been promoted. 7. Under such circumstance, I find that unless the petitioner is shown to be eligible as per Rules, it may not be ordinarily appropriate to issue direction to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the next higher rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests. 8. At this stage, Mr. J.I. Borbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the grievance of the petitioner for grant of promotion to the rank of Assistant Conservator of Forests with retrospective effect i.e. from the date when his juniors were promoted, is pending for consideration before this Court being WP(C) 3438/2025. 9. As noted above, unless the petitioner is promoted with retrospective effect, it cannot be said that the petitioner would be eligible to be considered for promotion to the post of Deputy Conservator of Forests in terms of the Rules. Having considered above, there is no clarity as to the eligibility of the petitioner to be considered for promotion to the next rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests, as the learned Standing Counsel, Forests Department and learned counsel for the petitioner have failed to place the recruitment Rule except oral submission that the petitioner is eligible. Thus, I am of the considered view that unless the petitioner is shown to be eligible in all respect, it would not be appropriate to issue direction to consider the case of the petitioner. 10. However, since the learned Standing Counsel, Forest Department has submitted that the writ petition can be disposed of with a direction to the respondent authorities to consider as to whether the petitioner is entitled to be considered for promotion or not, the present writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the respondent authorities to consider the case of the petitioner as to whether Page No.# 4/4 the petitioner is eligible as per the Rules for consideration for promotion to the post of Deputy Conservator of Forests. 11. With the above observation and direction, the writ petition stands disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant