Page No.# 1/7 GAHC010151762024 2025:GAU-AS:16975 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/3901/2024 MD. FOKRUL ISLAM MAZUMDER S/O-LATE ASADDAR ALI MAZUMDER, ASSISTANT HEAD MASTER, SWADHIN BAZAR HIGH SCHOOL, R/O- VILL- GOVINDANAGAR PT-I, P.O. DASHIN MOHANPUR, P.S. SONAI, DIST. CACHAR, ASSAM VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, SCHOOL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, ASSAM, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-781006. 2:THE DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSAM KAHILIPARA GUWAHATI-19. 3:THE INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS CACHAR DISTRICT CIRCLE (CDC) SILCHAR CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788001. 4:OMPRAKASH CHATURVEDY S/O- KEDAR NATH CHOUBEY R/O- NUTUN RAMNAGAR PART-II P.S. SONAI DIST. CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788126 Page No.# 2/7 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. N H BARBHUIYA, MS. N.A. LASKAR,MS. S. DEY Advocate for the Respondent : SC, SEC. EDU., J.P. BARUAH (R-4),MR. B PURKAYASTHA(R-4) BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ROBIN PHUKAN ORDER 08.12.2025 Heard Mr. N. H. Barbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. B. Kaushik, learned Standing Counsel for the respondent Nos. 1, 2 & 3. Also heard Mr. B. Purkayastha, learned counsel for the respondent No. 4. 2. Mr. Barbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was serving as the Assistant Headmaster in the then Abid Raja M.E. School and while he was serving as such, said school was amalgamated with Swadhin Bazar High School, vide order, dated 03.08.2017, and that he has been receiving graduate scale of pay since 19.11.1991. 2.1 Mr. Barbhuiya also submits that the respondent No. 4 was appointed as an Assistant Teacher on 25.04.2021, in Swadhin Bazar High School, when the said school was at the venture stage and the said school received financial grant, w.e.f. 01.09.2003. Thereafter, from the financial year 2010-2011, the staff wise financial assistance was released and the respondent No. 4 also received the staff wise financial assistance; and that, the Government of Assam, vide order dated 20.08.2013, provincialised the Swadhin Bazar High School, along with the services of the staff, including the respondent No. 4. Accordingly, the respondent No. 4 became a full-fledged government servant, w.e.f. 01.01.2013. Thereafter, the respondent No. 4, without obtaining previous permissions/NOCs from the appointing authority, took admission in the B.Ed. course under Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and obtained his B.Ed. degree in June, 2015. Page No.# 3/7 2.2 Mr. Barbhuiya, further submits that after the demise of the incumbent Headmaster of Swadhin Bazar High School on 13.04.2020, the Inspector of Schools, CDC, Silchar, vide order dated 04.05.2020, allowed the petitioner to act as In-charge Headmaster of the school and the Director of Secondary Education, Assam (DSE, Assam, hereinafter), vide order, dated 26.02.2021, considering the seniority of the petitioner, allowed him to act as In-charge Headmaster. 2.3 Thereafter, the respondent No. 4 had preferred one writ petition, being WP(C) No. 2326/2021, challenging the said appointment order of the petitioner and this Court, vide order dated 31.03.2021, had stayed the same. Thereafter, the DSE, Assam, vide order dated 19.07.2021, stayed the appointment order of the petitioner, dated 26.02.2021. Thereafter, this Court, vide order, dated 12.10.2023, had disposed of said WP(C) No. 2326/2021, by setting aside the order, dated 26.02.2021, and remanded the matter back to the DSE, Assam, for a fresh consideration. 2.4 Further, Mr. Barbhuiya submits that the Inspector of Schools, CDC, Silchar, and the DSE, Assam, through their letters, dated 17.11.2023 and 06.03.2024, informed the petitioner that the respondent No. 4 did not take any previous permission/NOC from the appointing authority, for pursuing the B.Ed. degree, which is a clear violation of Rule 13 of the Assam Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1965. 2.5 Thereafter, the DSE, Assam, vide impugned order, dated 06.06.2024, had allowed the respondent No. 4 to act as In-charge Headmaster of the Swadhin Bazar High School, on the strength of his illegal/unauthorized B.Ed. degree, which could not be appreciated; and that the petitioner, being the senior-most Assistant Headmaster of Swadhin Bazar High School, is deprived of his right to act as In- charge Headmaster of the said school and being aggrieved, the petitioner has approached this Court by filing the present petition, with a prayer to set aside and Page No.# 4/7 quash the order, dated 06.06.2024 (Annexure-5) and to direct the respondent authorities to allow the petitioner to hold the charge of In-charge Headmaster of Swadhin Bazar High School and that, in view of the Rule 14 of the Assam Secondary Education (Provincialisation) Rules, 2018, the petitioner, being the senior-most Headmaster, is eligible to hold the post of In-charge Headmaster and on such ground, Mr. Barbhuiya has contended to allow this petition. 3. Per contra, Mr. Purkayastha, learned counsel for the respondent No. 4, referring to the affidavit-in-opposition, dated 16.05.2025, submits that the respondent No. 4 was appointed as Graduate teacher by the then School Management Committee (SMC) of the Master Swadhin Bazar High School, Sonai, under Cachar district and he joined on 25.04.2001. His service was provincialised on 01.01.2013, vide order, dated 20.08.2013, and he possess more than 20 years of teaching experience as Graduate Teacher. Besides, he passed the MA degree in Education from KK Handiqui State Open University, in the year 2019; his B.Ed. degree from IGNOU, in the year 2015 and as such, he is qualified for holding the charge of In-charge Headmaster of Swadhin Bazar High School, Sonai. 3.1 It is also the submission of Mr. Purkayastha that the petitioner does not possess the requisite qualification, i.e., B.Ed. degree, for holding the post of In- charge Headmaster of the said School and as such, the impugned order, dated 06.06.2024, passed by the DSE, Assam, suffers from no infirmity and the same requires no interference of this Court. 3.2 Mr. Purkayastha, by referring to a decision of this Court, in WP(C) No. 3929/2024, also submits that though, the petitioner has obtained the B.Ed. degree without permission from the respondent authority, the said degree is held to be valid and as such, no fault can be found in the impugned order, passed by the Director of Secondary Education, Assam, dated 06.06.2024. Therefore, Mr. Page No.# 5/7 Purkayastha has contended to dismiss the same. 4. Mr. B. Kaushik, learned Standing Counsel for the respondent No. 1, 2 & 3; has supported the impugned order, dated 06.06.2024. 4.1 Mr. Kaushik submits that the petitioner does not possess the requisite qualification for being appointed as In-charge Headmaster and it has been well settled by a decision of this Court, in the case of Jagannath Pegu Vs. State of Assam and Others, reported in 2007 (3) GLT 389, that “It is too fundamental to state that a candidate eligible in terms of the relevant Rules for promotion to a post on a regular basis cannot be overlooked for the purpose of any temporary arrangement concerning the post as in the instant case”; and the respondent No. 4 has the requisite educational qualification and he also possesses the requisite experience and the B.Ed. degree, for holding the post of regular Headmaster as well as In-charge Headmaster and as such, there is no merit in this petition. Therefore, Mr. Kaushik has contended to dismiss this petition. 5. Having heard the submissions advanced by the learned counsel for both the parties, I have carefully gone through the petition and the documents placed on record and I find substance in the submission advanced by Mr. Purkayastha, learned counsel for the respondent No. 4 and Mr. Kaushik, learned Standing Counsel for the respondent Nos. 1, 2 & 3. 6. Admittedly, the petitioner does not possess the B.Ed. degree, which is required to hold the post of Headmaster on regular basis and also on temporary basis, in view of the decision of this Court in the case of Jagannath Pegu (Supra). 7. Further, Rule 14(2)(b) provides that to be a Headmaster of a High School, he must have at least 10 years of teaching experience as Graduate Teacher; and in case of amalgamated High School, where ME/MV school has been amalgamated, Page No.# 6/7 the Assistant Headmaster is eligible for selection as Headmaster, subject to the condition that the incumbent should have at least 15 years of teaching experience as graduate teacher, including the period of service in the erstwhile ME/MV school. 8. Rule 15 of the Assam Secondary Education (Provincialisation) Rules, 2018 (hereinafter, Rules, 2018), provides that upon amalgamation of a ME School with a High School, the services of the Headmaster of the ME School are to be utilized as ‘Assistant Headmaster’ in the amalgamated High School and this position indicates the status and seniority of the respondent No. 4 in the amalgamated establishment. It is to be noted here that the proviso to Rule 14(2)(a) of the Rules, 2018, prescribed the eligibility criteria for the post of Headmaster in High School/High Madrassa and in order to hold the post of Headmaster, one must have a BA/B.Sc./B.Com with B.T./B.Ed. degree from any recognized University. 9. However, in the case in hand, though the petitioner has the requisite experience, yet, he does not possess any B.T./B.Ed. degree from a recognized university, as required by Rule 14(2)(b) of the Rules, 2018. 10. In that view of the matter and also in view of the decision of a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, in the case of Jagannath Pegu (Supra), this Court is of the considered view that the impugned order, dated 06.06.2024, suffers from no infirmity or illegality, requiring any interference of this Court. 11. In the result, this Court finds this petition devoid of merit and accordingly, the same stands dismissed; leaving the parties to bear their own costs. JUDGE Page No.# 7/7 Comparing Assistant