Point of Law : the B.Ed degrees obtained by the petitioners are otherwise valid degrees except for the procedural requirement of the Central Government to issue the notification.

JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. SK Goswami, learned counsel for the writ petitioners in WP(C) No. 4071/2021 and WP(C) No. 4373/2021, Mr.A. Narzari, learned counsel for the petitioners in WP(C) No. 4218/2021 and WP(C) No. 1213/2022, Mr. Girin Pegu, learned CGC for the respondents in the Union of India through the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of Higher Education, Mr. R Mazumdar, learned counsel for the respondents in the Secondary Education Department of the Government of Assam, Mr. I Alam, learned counsel for the respondents in the NCTE and Mr. PJ Phukan, learned counsel for the respondents in the Gauhati University. The respondent Government B.T College, Goalpara being an institute under the Government of Assam, Mr. R Mazumdar, learned counsel for the Education Department also appears for the said respondent.

2. Without going into the details of the facts raised by the petitioner in this batch of writ petitions, we take note of that all the writ petitioners had participated in a selection process for promotion as Headmasters of the respective/various high schools, which were undertaken by the Secondary Education Department of the Government of Assam. All the petitioners were otherwise declared successful in the selection process and accordingly are entitled to be promoted as Headmasters. But as because an issue remained as to the acceptability of the B.Ed degrees of the writ petitioners as because the said issue had not been finally settled, the respective promotion orders are being withheld by the respondents in the Secondary Education Department. The petitioners in WP(C) No. 4071/2021 and WP(C) No. 4373/2021 had obtained their respective B.Ed degrees through the Government B.T College, Goalpara whereas the petitioners in WP(C) No. 4218/2021 and WP(C) No. 1213/2022 had obtained their respective B.Ed degrees through the Government Post Graduate Training College, Jorhat, Government Banikanta College of Teachers Education, Guwahati, Government Siksha Mahavidyalaya, Nagaon and Government Mangaldoi Teacher Training College, Darrang, respectively. It is an admitted position of all the parties that the institutions namely Government B.T College, Goalpara, Government Post Graduate Training College, Jorhat, Government Banikanta College of Teachers Education, Guwahati, Government Siksha Mahavidyalaya, Nagaon and Government Mangaldoi Teacher Training College, Darrang are Government institutions and are wholly funded by the Government of Assam. The respective B.Ed degrees of the petitioners were obtained during the academic Session 1996-97, where the examination was held in the year 1998.

3. Section 14 of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (in short Act of 1993) provides that every institutions offering or intending to offer a course or training in teacher education on or after the appointed date, may for grant of recognition under the Act, make an application to the concerned Regional Committee of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). The appointed date is stated to be 01.07.1995.

4. Proviso to Section 14(1) further provides that the institutions offering a course or training in teacher education may continue to do so for a period of six months, if it has made an application for recognition within the said period of six months. In other words, any such application made within six months of 01.07.1995, the B.Ed degree obtained through such institutions would be a valid degree under the law. The period of six months was subsequently extended by the relevant notification up to 18.08.1997, meaning thereby, that any of the institutions which had made the application prior to the said date, the B.Ed degrees obtained through such institutions would be a valid degree under the law.

5. Taking into consideration the relevant provisions of law, a judgment was rendered by this Court in WP(C) No. 3289/2020 (Pranita Sarma–vs-State of Assam and others), wherein it was provided that in the event any of the institut