Franklin Hussain and 14 Ors v. The State of Assam and 19 Ors

PageoNo.#o1/13 GAHC010243252022 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/7667/2022o SHAHIDURoSHAoKHANDARoANDo8oORS.o S/O.oKAHINURoSHAoKHANDAR,oR/O.oVILL.oBIDDAYPARAoWARDoNO.8,oP.O.,o P.S.oANDoDIST.oDUBRI,oASSAM. 2:oFIROZSARKAR oS/O.oGOLAPoUDDINoSK. oR/O.oVILL.oNORTHoGERAMARIoPT-I(NOWDAGAON) oP.O.oGERAMARI oP.S.oGAURIPUR oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. 3:oRAHULoCHAKRABORTY oS/O.oLATEoBIRENCHARABORTY oR/O.oBILASIPARA oWARDoNO.8 oP.O.oHAKAMA oP.S.oBILASIPARA oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. 4:oDANEZoALIoSHEIKH oS/O.oNASHERoALI oR/O.oBIRSHINGoPART-III oP.O. oP.S.oFAKIRGANJ oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. 5:oSHANKARoSHA oS/O.oLATEoSHAMDEVoSHA PageoNo.#o2/13 oR/O.oVILL.oANDoP.O.oGOLAKGANJ oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. 6:oMONUJCHUNGKRANG oS/O.oRAMAoKANTACHUNGKARANG oR/O.oVILL.oMUKALIPATHER oP.O.oRATANPUR oP.S.oJONAI oDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM. 7:oRINKUBAISHYA oS/O.oNABINBAISHYA oR/O.oABCoSORBODAYoPATH oHOUSEoNO.10 oGUWAHATI oDIST.oKAMRUP(M). 8:oMOHANoCHANDRAoRABHA oS/O.oGIRISHoCH.oRABHA oR/O.oVILL.oKOCHPARA oP.O.oKINANGAON(BOKO) oDIST.oKAMRUP oASSAM. 9:oDEBABRTAoKR.oDAS oS/O.oLATEoHEMoKR.oDAS oR/O.oVILL.oRUPSHIoPART-I oP.O.oRUPSHI oP.S.oKAZIGAON oDIST.oKOKRAJHAR oASSAMo VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo19oORS.o REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoGOVT.oOFo ASSAMoEDUCATIONoDEPARTMENT(ELEMENTARY),oDISPUR,oGUWAHATI-6. 2:THEoMISSIONoDIRECTOR oSAMAGRASHIKSHA oASSAMo(ERSTWHILEoAXOMoSARBAoSIKSHAWoABHIJANoMISSION) oKAHILIPARA PageoNo.#o3/13 oGUWAHATI-19. 3:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oSAMAGRASHIKSHA oDHUBRI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM.oPIN 4:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oSAMAGRASHIKSHA oBAKSA oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oBAKSA oASSAM.oPIN 5:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oSAMAGRASHIKSHA oHAILAKANDI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oHAILAKANDI oASSAM.oPIN 6:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oSAMAGRASHIKSHA oDIMAoHASAO oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDIMAoHASAO oASSAM.oPIN 7:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oSAMAGRASHIKSHA oDHEMAJI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM.oPIN 8:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oSAMAGRASHIKSHA oKAMRUP oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oKAMRUP oASSAM.oPIN 9:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER PageoNo.#o4/13 oDHUBRI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM.oPIN 10:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oBAKSA oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oBAKSA oASSAM.oPIN 11:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oHAILAKANDI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oHAILAKANDI oASSAM.oPIN 12:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oDIMAoHASAO oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDIMAoHASAO oASSAM.oPIN 13:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM.oPIN 14:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oKAMRUP oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oKAMRUP oASSAM.oPIN 15:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM.oPIN 16:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oBAKSA oASSAM.oPIN 17:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oHAILAKANDI oASSAM.oPIN Page No.# 5/13 18:BLOCK MISSION CO-ORDINATOR P.O. P.S. AND DIST. DIMA HASAO ASSAM. PIN 19:BLOCK MISSION CO-ORDINATOR P.O. P.S. AND DIST. DHEMAJI ASSAM. PIN 20:BLOCK MISSION CO-ORDINATOR P.O. P.S. AND DIST. KAMRUP ASSAM. PIN Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. U K NAIR Advocate for the Respondent : SC, ELEM. EDU Linked Case : WP(C)/7671/2022 FRANKLIN HUSSAIN AND 14 ORS. S/O. MASTAFA HUSSAIN R/O. A.M. CO. ROAD P.O. DIST. DHUBRI ASSAM. 2: CHINMOY PATHOK S/O. LT. PHULEN PATHAK R/O. TAMULPUR P.O. DIST. BAKSA ASSAM. 3: BIDYUT KANTI DUTTA S/O. LATE VIVEKANANDA DUTTA R/O. SOUTH HAILAKANDI TOOL ROAD P.O. AND DIST. HAILAKANDI ASSAM. PageoNo.#o6/13 o4:oGAURABoCHANDA S/O.oLATEoBIJENDRAoCHANDA oR/O.oHAFLONG oDIST.oDIMAoHASAO oASSAM. o5:oPAULoNAMPUL S/O.oL.K.oCHONGAoNAMPUL oR/O.oUMRONSO oDIST.oDIMAoHASAO oASSAM. o6:oINDRAJIToKR.oROY S/O.oLATEoPURNAoCHANDRAoROY oR/O.oGAURIPUR oWARDoNO.II oP.O.oGAURIPUR oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. o7:oHEMJYOTIoKALITA S/O.oNAGARJULI oR/O.oVILL.oANDoP.O.oSAHPUR oPEBIPOLA oDIST.oBAKSA oASSAM. o8:oSAILANDHARoPEGU S/O.oLT.oUPENDRAoNATHoPEGU oR/O.oTANTARI oP.O.oDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM. o9:oJAHARoJOYTIoKULI S/O.oDHANJAYoKULI oR/O.oTANTARI oP.O.oKULAJAN oP.S.oCHILAPATHAR oDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM. o10:oPRABADHoKR.oBARMAN S/O.oGOLAKoCHANDRAoBARMAN oR/O.oBOURI oP.S.oDELHAR oDIST.oNALBARI PageoNo.#o7/13 oASSAM. o11:oRANAoDAS S/O.oHARISHoDAS oR/O.oWARDoNO. oP.O.oKHALILPUR oP.S oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. o12:oMOFIDULoISLAM S/O.oKASMAToALIoSK. oR/O.oSOUTHoCOLLEGEoNAGAR oWARDoNO.14 oP.O.oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. o13:oRAJIBoPRODHANI S/O.oSHAHJAHANoALIoPRADHANI oR/O.oMOTERJHAR oP.O.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. o14:oMIZANURoRAHMAN S/O.oLATEoABDURoRAHMAN oR/O.oBORKANDA oP.O.oBARKANDA oBILASIPARA oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM. o15:oMANOJoKR.oRAY S/O.oLATEoPHATIKoCH.oRAY oR/O.oVILL.oGAIKHOWA oP.O.oGOLAKGANJ oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM oVERSUS THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo19oORS. REP.oBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oEDUCATIONoDEPTT.o(ELEMENTARY) oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-06. 2:THEoMISSIONoDIRECTOR oSAMAGRAoSHIKSHA PageoNo.#o8/13 ASSAMo(SAMAGRAoSIKSHAoASSAM) oKAHILIPARA oGUWAHATI-19. o3:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR SAMAGRASHIKSHA oDHUBRI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM.oPIN o4:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR SAMAGRASHIKSHA oBAKSA oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oBAKSA oASSAM.oPIN o5:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR SAMAGRASHIKSHA oHAILAKANDI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oHAILAKANDI oASSAM.oPIN o6:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR SAMAGRASHIKSHA oDIMAoHASAO oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDIMAoHASAO oASSAM.oPIN o7:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR SAMAGRASHIKSHA oDHEMAJI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM.oPIN o8:THEoDISTRICToMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR SAMAGRASHIKSHA oKAMRUP oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oKAMRUP oASSAM.oPIN o9:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER DHUBRI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM.oPIN o10:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER PageoNo.#o9/13 BAKSA oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oBAKSA oASSAM.oPIN o11:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER HAILAKANDI oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oHAILAKANDI oASSAM.oPIN o12:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER DIMAoHASAO oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDIMAoHASAO oASSAM.oPIN o13:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER P.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM.oPIN o14:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER KAMRUP oP.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oKAMRUP oASSAM.oPIN o15:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR P.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM.oPIN o16:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR P.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oBAKSA oASSAM.oPIN o17:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR P.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oHAILAKANDI oASSAM.oPIN o18:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR P.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDIMAoHASAO oASSAM.oPIN o19:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR P.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oDHEMAJI oASSAM.oPIN o20:BLOCKoMISSIONoCO-ORDINATOR P.O. oP.S.oANDoDIST.oKAMRUP oASSAM.oPIN. Page No.# 10/13 ------------ Advocate for : MR. U K NAIR Advocate for : SC ELEM. EDU appearing for THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 19 ORS.

BEFORE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH

06.02.2023 Heard Mr. U. K. Nair, the learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. N. Alam, the learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. P. Nayak, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of Axom Sarba Shiksha Abhijan Mission and Ms. S. Baruah, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State respondents. Both the writ petitions are taken up for disposal at the motion stage itself taking into account that the facts involved in both the writ petitions are similar in nature. The petitioners in WP(C) No.7671/2022 are serving as Accounts Assistance-cum-Caretaker on contractual basis in Kasturba Gandi Balika Vidyalaya (for short, KGBV) and the petitioners in WP(C) No.7667/2022 are working as Chowkidar, Grade-IV employees on contractual basis under Samagra Shiksha, Assam in KGBV. Both the sets of petitioners are employed on the basis of engagement agreement for a period of 11 months which are renewed from time to time. Clause 5 of the engagement agreement entered into between Assam Sarba Shiksha Abhijan Mission and the petitioners in both the sets of writ petitions are same. Taking into account its relevance, the same is quoted herein under:- Page No.# 11/13 "5. That during the period of the agreement, The Second Party shall be governed by all rules, regulations and bye laws of Axom Sarba Siksha Abhijan Mission in force for the time being." Mr. P. Nayak, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of Axom Sarba Shiksha Abhijan Mission has placed before this Court Service Regulations and the Financial Regulations, 2003 of Axom Sarba Shiksha Abhijan Mission. He further placed reliance on General Conditions of the Service Regulations and more particularly to Clause 6 (p) which is reproduced herein below: "A member of service engaged either on contract basis or on deputation/attachment shall be liable to be posted anywhere within the State of Assam or in any other department of Govt., corporate body, society in the affairs of which the Mission may be interested and in such cases, the member shall have no option against such posting or transfer." A perusal of the above quoted regulation would show that a member of service either on contractual basis or on deputation/attachment shall be liable to be posted anywhere within the State of Assam or in any other Department of Government, corporate body, society in the affairs of which the Mission may be interested and in such cases, the member shall have no option against such posting or transfer. In the backdrop of the above, let this Court take into consideration the reason why the instant writ petitions have been filed by the two sets of writ petitioners. The petitioners herein, in both the writ petitions, are aggrieved by the order dated 03.11.2022 issued by the Mission Director, Samagra Shiksha, Assam whereby the petitioners have been transferred from KGBV to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalaya (for short, Page No.# 12/13 NSCBAV). Mr. P. Nayak, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of Axom Sarba Shiksha Abhijan Mission submitted that the KGBVs were funded by the Government of India under the Ministry of Education as per the approval of the Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting with 90:10 fund sharing pattern of the Government of India and Government of Assam. In the 223rd meeting of the Project Approval Board to consider the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B), 2016-17 of Sarba Shiksha Abhijan Mission for the State of Assam, it was mentioned at Point No.6, Part b. IV that the State will further ensure that all staff engaged inside KGBVs will be female only. Further in the 11th Executive Committee which is the Apex decision making body of Samagra Shiksha in its meeting held on

24.08.2022 had directed to explore the possibility of the existing male staff of KGBVs being accommodated/transferred to other institutions like Adarsha Vidyalaya or other schemes etc. and post of KGBV being filled up with female candidates only. Thereupon the Government of India in its Project Approval Board Meeting to consider Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B), Samagra Shiksha, Assam had sanctioned 10 numbers of new NSCBAVs in 10 blocks. Accordingly, initiatives have been taken for operationalisation of these NSCBAVs. It was mentioned that these NSCBAVs are institutions of same nature as KGBVs, only difference is that KGBVs are residential schools for girls whereas NSCBAVs are residential schools for boys. It was mentioned that in NSCBAVs most of the positions like Superintendent, Administrative Assistant, Peon, Chowkidar, Cook are to be filled up with male candidates. Accordingly, taking into account the said aspect of the matter, the impugned transfer order was issued on Page No.# 13/13

03.11.2022. It was also mentioned that the objectives of the impugned action is to accommodate the long serving male staff of KGBVs in NSCBAVs for the continuance of their services with same remuneration in the light of the recent directions of the Central Government not to retain male staff in KGBVs. The materials so placed by Mr. P. Nayak, the learned counsel during the course of hearing is kept on record and marked with the letter "X". This Court, keeping in mind that the scope of judicial review in matters pertaining to transfer is very limited and in the instant cases, the reasons as available on record as well as Regulation 6 (p) of the Service Regulations as quoted herein above is of the opinion that these cases are not cases wherein this Court should exercise the powers of judicial review.. Accordingly, both the writ petitions, being devoid of merits, stand dismissed. The interim order passed earlier stands vacated.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant