The regular incumbency of a candidate may exempt them from certain eligibility requirements for a position.

JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. A. Deka, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Ms. B. Chowdhury, learned counsel representing the respondent No.4.

2. The petitioner, by way of instituting the present proceeding, has assailed an order dated 05.08.2023 issued by the Director of Secondary Education, Assam, by which the temporary arrangement made in his case to hold the charge of Headmaster of Tamar Gaon Tribal High School in the district of Lakhimpur was altered and the respondent No.4 was allowed to hold the charge of the said post.

The facts requisite for deciding the issues arising in the present proceeding is noted hereinbelow.

3. The petitioner was recruited as a Graduate Teacher in Tamar Gaon Tribal High School vide order dated 05.09.2013. While serving as such, the petitioner vide order dated 12.09.2022 (Annexure-1 to the writ petition) was allowed to hold the charge of the post of Headmaster of the said School on a vacancy arising therein. The petitioner accordingly took over the charge of the post of Headmaster and was continuing as such.

4. The respondent No.4 was initially appointed as Headmaster of Na-Vanga High School on 08.04.1992 when the said School was at the venture stage. The cases of the employees of the said School including that of the respondent No.4 was taken up for provincialisation and vide an order dated 18.11.2013, the services of the employees of the said School were provincialised and the respondent No.4 came to be provincialised as the Headmaster of the said School, i.e. Na-Vanga High School.

5. Thereafter, the respondent authorities in terms of the Scheme in place, i.e. “Siksha Khetra Scheme”, decided to amalgamate Na-Vanga High School with Tamar Gaon Tribal High School and accordingly, the said amalgamation was effected vide order dated 17.06.2023.

6. The respondent No.4, in the joint list of employees in the amalgamated School, was shown to be holding the post of Headmaster and drawing the scale thereof while the petitioner was shown to be holding the post of Graduate Teacher drawing the scale authorized to the said post. The respondent No.4 on joining the amalgamated School, i.e. Tamar Gaon Tribal High School, submitted an application praying that he be permitted to hold the charge of the post of Headmaster. The said application was duly considered and vide order dated 05.08.2023, the Director of Secondary Education, Assam, i.e. the respondent No.2, allowed the respondent No.4 to hold the charge of Headmaster of Tamar Gaon Tribal High School along with financial power as per provisions of FR-49(c). It is this order dated 05.08.2023, which has been put to challenge by the petitioner before this Court in the present proceeding.

7. Mr. A. Deka, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondent No.4 is not eligible to hold the charge of the post of Headmaster of the said School in view of the fact that he does not possess the educational qualifications mandated under the provisions of the Assam Secondary Education (Provincialised Schools) Service Rules, 2018, more particularly, Rule 14(2)(a) thereof inasmuch as the respondent No.4 admittedly does not possess a B.Ed. qualification. The learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner having not satisfied the eligibility conditions requisite for recruitment to the post of Headmaster of a High School as mandated under Rule 14(2)(a), he is also not entitled to be permitted to hold the charge of the said post and in this connection relies upon the case of Jagannath Pegu -Vs-State of Assam & Ors., reported in 2007 (3) GLT 389, wherein it has been held by this Court that even for holding a post on in-charge basis, the incumbent must satisfy the eligibility conditions mandated for recruitment to the post in question on regular basis.

8. Mr. Deka by referring to the provisions of the order of amalgamation dated 17.06.2023, more particularly, Clause 8 thereof, submits that the petitioner being the senior-most Headmaster of the School