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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GAUHATI, ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH
Achintya Malla Bujor Barua, J.
Biren Saikia S/o Late Sonaram Saikia - Appellant
Vs.
The State Of Assam And Ors Represented By The Commissioner And Secy. To The Govt. Of Assam, Education Deptt., Dispur, Guwahati - Assam Respondent
WP(C) No. 3166 of 2021
Decided On : 05-12-2023
B.Ed. Degree - Appointment of Principal - NCTE Act, 1993, Section 14 - Summary of Acts and Sections: The court discussed the validity of the B.Ed. degree obtained by the petitioner from Bihupuria PGT College in 1996-97. The NCTE referred the matter to the Department of Education, Government of Assam and the Dibrugarh University for a decision on the recognition status of the B.Ed. course. The court considered the implications of the NCTE's decision and the interpretations of relevant provisions, including Section 14 of the NCTE Act, 1993, and the Supreme Court's rulings in similar cases. The court concluded that the B.Ed. degree obtained by the petitioner was valid under the law.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought appointment as the Principal of Kherajkhat Senior Secondary School based on his qualifications. He challenged the appointment of respondent No. 7 as Principal, alleging that his B.Ed. degree was valid. The NCTE referred the matter to the Department of Education, Government of Assam and the Dibrugarh University for a decision on the recognition status of the B.Ed. course.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the B.Ed. degree obtained by the petitioner from Bihupuria PGT College in 1996-97 was valid under the law, contrary to the decision of the authorities. The court remanded the matter to the Director of Secondary Education, Assam for re-examination, with due hearing to the appointed Principal.
Issues: The issues revolved around the validity of the petitioner's B.Ed. degree and the appointment of the Principal of Kherajkhat Senior Secondary School.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the interpretation of the NCTE Act, 1993, Section 14, and the application of the Supreme Court's rulings in similar cases, which established that the B.Ed. degree obtained from an institution, even if unrecognized, would be valid if the course was undertaken in the given year when the recognition was refused and the degree was obtained after completing the course.
Final Decision: The court remanded the matter to the Director of Secondary Education, Assam for re-examination of the petitioner's claim for appointment as the regular Principal of Kherajkhat Senior Secondary School, with a requirement to consider the acceptability of the B.Ed. degree within two months.
JUDGMENT & ORDER :
Heard Mr. D. Deka, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. N.J. Khataniar, learned counsel for the respondents in the Secondary Education Department of Government of Assam, Mr. I Alam, learned counsel for the respondents in the NCTE, Mr. N.C. Das, learned Senior Counsel for the Dibrugarh University, Mr. G. Goswami, learned counsel for the authorities in the Bihpuria PGT College and Mr. S.K. Das, learned counsel for the respondent No. 7 Biren Bora.
2. The petitioner Biren Saikia based upon his qualification and eligibility seeks to be the Principal of Kherajkhat Senior Secondary School. The petitioner participated in a selection process for the post of Principal of Kherajkhat Senior Secondary School as per the advertisement dated 14.12.2018 and states that in the selection process he was otherwise the first selected candidate in order of merit but by the order impugned dated 29.04.2021 of the Director of Secondary Education, Assam, the respondent No. 7 Biren Bora who has the qualification of M.Sc., B.Ed. and is a Post Graduate Teacher at Kherajkhat Senior Secondary School, Lakhimpur was appointed as a regular Principal of the School.
3. The petitioner Biren Saikia earlier instituted WP(C)/2057/2020 assailing the communication dated 07.02.2020 by which the present respondent No. 7 Biren Bora was appointed as the regular Principal of the school. In the said writ petition it was the stand of the petitioner Biren Saikia that he had the qualification of Post Graduate degree as well as B.Ed. degree and therefore, he was duly qualified to be appointed as regular Principal of the school but ignoring his claim the respondent No. 7 Biren Bora had been appointed as the regular Principal of the school. In the said writ petition it was the stand of the State respondents in the Secondary Education Department that the petitioner Biren Saikia was not appointed inasmuch as his B.Ed. degree was not a valid degree under the law. Accordingly, by the order dated 03.12.2020 in WP(C)/2057/2020 the matter was remanded to the NCTE to examine as regards the validity of the B.Ed. degree of the petitioner.
4. In response thereof the NCTE took a decision in the minutes of 289th meeting of the ERC held on 15.02.2021 to refer the matter to the Secretary to the Department of Education, Government of Assam and to the Registrar of the concerned affiliating body which has to be understood to be the Dibrugarh University for taking a decision and to inform the NCTE regarding the recognition status of the B.Ed. course conducted by the Bihupuria PGT College in the year 1996-97. In response thereof, by the communication dated 16.03.2021 of the Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Assam in the Secondary Education Department made amongst others to the Regional Director of Eastern Regional Committee of NCTE as well as to the Director of Secondary Education, Assam, a conclusion was arrived that the writ petitioner Biren Saikia was a B.Ed. student during the year 1996-97 and he failed in the regular B.Ed. examination held in the year 1997 and passed the examination only on 27.02.1999 and that the Bihupuria PGT College, Lakhimpur was not recognized during the year 1996 till the year 2001 and therefore, the B.Ed. degree of the writ petitioner Biren Saikia is not a valid degree.
5. Based upon such conclusion, the order impugned dated 29.04.2021 had been passed appointing the respondent No. 7 Biren Bora as the regular Principal of Kherajkhat Senior Secondary School. In the instant writ petition the order dated 29.04.2021 is assailed on the ground that as per the law applicable on the subject the B.Ed. degree of the petitioner obtained in the manner taken note of by the respondent authorities is not an invalid B.Ed. degree.
6. The respondents in the Secondary Education Department, Assam in the writ petition takes a stand that the decision arrived at in the communication dated 16.03.2021 is a right decision that the B.Ed. degree would not be a v
The main legal point established in the judgment is that a B.Ed. degree obtained from an institution, even if unrecognized, would be valid if the course was undertaken in the given year when the reco....
The institution offering the course is entitled to award the degree until the end of the academic session, and the recognition granted by the NCTE would relate back to the date of the institution's a....
The central legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of Section 14 of the NCTE Act and the validity of B.Ed. degrees obtained from an institute prior to its recognition by the NC....
The main legal point established in the judgment is the validity of the petitioner's B.Ed. Degree, the determination of seniority for promotion, and the illegal deprivation of fair consideration for ....
The court ruled that a valid B.Ed. Degree cannot be invalidated due to procedural violations by government employees, reaffirming the authority of educational institutions over degree validity.
Qualifications obtained from unrecognized institutions prior to the N.C.T.E. Act are valid and should be recognized for employment purposes, as established by the Supreme Court.
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