Pratap Chandra Das and 5 Ors v. The State of Assam and 5 Ors

ORDER Date : 28.08.2023

Heard Mr. T. Deuri, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. B. Kaushik, learned counsel for the respondents in the Education Department.

¶2The petitioners before the Court are the guardians of the students of Swahid Lohit Pathak Chani Ram Rabha High School which is located at Pub Barjar, P.O. Barama in the Nalbari district. They are aggrieved by the order of amalgamation dated 05.08.2023 of the Inspector of Schools, NDC, Nalbari, by which Swahid Lohit Pathak Chani Ram Rabha High School was amalgamated with Gohain Kamal High School which is located at village Kathalbari also in the Nalbari district. The grievance raised by the petitioners is that the infrastructural facilities available at Swahid Lohit Pathak Chani Ram Rabha High School are comparatively better than the infrastructural facilities available at Gohain Kamal High School.

¶3According to the petitioners as per Clause 15(a) of the Scheme of Amalgamation dated 03.08.2021, the school having good infrastructural facilities together with an amiable academic atmosphere and proper road connectivity in Page No.# 4/5 comparison to the other shall be the base school. In the instant case by the impugned order of amalgamation dated 05.08.2023, Gohain Kamal High School had been made the base school by ignoring the better infrastructural facilities as well as more amiable academic atmosphere and better road connectivity which are available in respect of the petitioners' school Swahid Lohit Pathak Chani Ram Rabha High School.

¶4We have been pointed out that in respect of an order of amalgamation of the Director, if any of the schools have any grievance, the remedy thereof would be to make an appeal before the Government in the Secondary or the Elementary Education Department, as the case may be.

¶5In the instant case, in view of the provisions of Clause 19 of the Scheme of Amalgamation dated 03.08.2021, the petitioners' school to submit an appeal before the Secretary to the Government of Assam in the Secondary Education Department bringing in the detailed facts which may lead to a conclusion that the infrastructural facilities as well as the existence of amiable academic atmosphere and proper road connectivity in respect of Swahid Lohit Pathak Chani Ram Rabha High School is better in comparison with that of Gohain Kamal High School. Upon such appeal being made, the Secretary to the Government of Assam in the Secondary Education Department shall also issue notice to the Gohain Kamal High School for their response.

¶6Upon doing the needful and after making a proper evaluation as regards the existence of good infrastructural facilities together with an amiable academic atmosphere and proper road connectivity in respect of the two schools, a reasoned order be passed as to which of the schools should be the base school in respect of the amalgamation effected by the impugned order dated

05.08.2023. The appeal be submitted by the petitioners within a period of Page No.# 5/5 fifteen days from today and upon the said appeal being submitted, the Secretary to pass a reasoned order within a period of three months from date of receipt of the appeal. Writ petition stands disposed of as indicated above. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/5 GAHC010182802023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/4913/2023o PRATAPoCHANDRAoDASoANDo5oORS.o S/O-oLATEoRAMoCHANDRAoDAS,oR/O-oVILL.-oBANGNABARI,oP.O.o KATHALBARI,oDIST.oNALBARI,oASSAM,oPIN-o781346. 2:oHITESHoHAZARIKA oS/O-oLATEoHARIoHAZARIKA oR/O-oVILL.-oBANGNABARI oP.O.oKATHALBARI oDIST.oNALBARI oASSAM oPIN-o781346. 3:oKULENoBARMAN oS/O-oLATEoHEMKANTAoBARMAN oR/O-oVILL.-oKODOMTOLA oP.O.oBARAMA oDIST.oNALBARI oASSAM oPIN-o781346. 4:oUMESHoBARMAN oS/O-oLATEoBIRAHUoRAMoBARMAN oR/O-oVILL.-oPUB-BRAJAR oP.O.oBARAMA oDIST.oNALBARI oASSAM oPIN-o781346. 5:oKESHABoRAJBONGSHI oS/O-oLATEoRABIoRAMoRAJBONGSHI oR/O-oVILL.-oBANGNABARI oP.O.oKATHALBARI oDIST.oNALBARI oASSAM PageoNo.#o2/5 oPIN-o781346. 6:oHARIHARoDAS oS/O-oSRIoDEBENDRAoDAS oR/O-oVILL.-oBANGNABARI oP.O.oKATHALBARI oDIST.oNALBARI oASSAM oPIN-o781346o VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo5oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEo GOVERNMENToOFoASSAM,oEDUCATIONoDEPARTMENT,oDISPUR,o GUWAHATI,oPIN-o781006. 2:THEoDIRECTORoOFoSECONDARYoEDUCATION oASSAM oKAHILIPARA oGUWAHATI oPIN-o781019. 3:THEoDISTRICToLEVELoCOMMITTEE oAMALGAMATION/MERGERoOFoSCHOOLS oNALBARIoDISTRICT oREPRESENTEDoBYoITSoMEMBERoSECRETARY oINSPECTORoOFoSCHOOLS oNALBARIoDISTRICToCIRCLE oNALBARI oPIN-o781335. 4:THEoINSPECTORoOFoSCHOOLS oNALBARIoDISTRICToCIRCLE oNALBARI oRAYoBARUAHoCOMPLEX oCOLLEGEoROAD oNALBARI oPIN-o781335. 5:THEoSCHOOLoMANAGEMENToANDoDEVELOPMENToCOMMITTEE oSWAHIDoLOHIToPATHAKoCHANIoRABHAoHIGHoSCHOOL oPUBoBARJAR oREPRESENTEDoBYoITSoPRESIDENT oP.O.oBARAMA oDIST.oNALBARI oPIN-o781346. Page No.# 3/5 6:THE HEAD MASTER SWAHID LOHIT PATHAK CHANI RAM RABHA HIGH SCHOOL PUB BARJAR P.O. BARAMA DIST. NALBARI PIN- 781346 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. T DEURI Advocate for the Respondent : SC, SEC. EDU. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ACHINTYA MALLA BUJOR BARUA