IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that modifications to recruitment eligibility conditions did not violate constitutional rights and maintained that merit-based evaluation prevails over qualification type.

JUDGMENT :

(N. Unni Krishnan Nair, J.) :

Heard Mr. A. R. Bhuiyan, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. Devajit Saikia, learned Advocate General, Assam, assisted by Mr. P. K. Borah, and Mr. A. Phukan, learned standing counsels, Elementary Education Department, appearing on behalf of respondents No. 1 & 2; Mr. I. Alom, learned standing counsel, NCTE, appearing on behalf of respondent No. 3; and Mrs. R. Borah, learned standing counsel, CBSE, appearing on behalf of respondent No. 4.

2. The petitioners, herein, who are Assam TET qualified candidates, have instituted the present proceeding, assailing the Notice, dated 16.02.2023, by which the eligibility conditions for recruitment under Clause No. 4 in the Advertisement No. 255733/10, dated 11.02.2023, herein, denoted as Advertisement-A, as well as in the Advertisement No. 255733/15, dated 11.02.2023, herein, denoted as Advertisement-B; were partially modified in respect of the candidates having Central TET qualification and permitting them to apply against the post so advertised by matching the medium of instruction of school, either, with their Language-I paper or Language-II paper.

3. The petitioners, herein, in response to a Notification, dated 14.09.2021, had participated in the TET examination so conducted by the Government of Assam in the Education Department. The petitioners, on qualifying the said examination, were issued with their respective certificates, dated 28.01.2022. Accordingly, all the petitioners, herein, are the Assam TET qualified candidates.

4. The Director, Elementary Education Department, Assam, vide Advertisement-A, had invited applications from Assam TET qualified candidates/Central TET qualified candidates for filling up of 3887 vacancies of Assistant Teacher of LP Schools, and vide Advertisement-B, had invited applications from Assam TET qualified candidates/Central TET qualified candidates for filling up of 1443 vacancies of Assistant Teacher and Science Teacher of UP Schools; under the Directorate.

5. In terms of the conditions for recruitment as spelt-out in Clause No. 4 in both the Advertisements i.e. Advertisement-A and Advertisement-B; it was mandated that in the Language-I paper of both Assam TET and Central TET, the candidates shall match the medium of instruction of the school wherein the candidates wishes to apply. An example was also given in the said Advertisements in this connection to the effect that if a candidate wishes to apply in an Assamese medium school, the candidate must have Assamese as Language-I in the Assam TET/Central TET.

6. Pursuant to the issuance of the said Advertisements; the impugned Notice, dated 16.02.2023, came to be so issued and therein, the condition of clause No. 4 of the recruitment, came to be modified in respect of the candidates qualifying in the Central TET to the extent that the Central TET qualified candidates were permitted to match the medium of instruction of the school wherein such candidates wishes to apply, either, basing on Language-I paper, or, Language-II paper.

7. The petitioners being aggrieved with the said liberty granted to the Central TET qualified candidates, have approached this Court by way of filing this writ petition, presenting a challenge to the Notice, dated 16.02.2023.

8. Mr. Bhuiyan, learned counsel for the petitioners, by taking this Court through the Advertisement issued on 14.09.2021, inviting applications from eligible candidates to appear in the Teachers Eligibility Test(TET) for Lower Primary and Upper Primary Level in the State of Assam, more particularly, by referring to the structure and content of the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) 2021 Examination, has contended that a candidate appearing in the Teachers Eligibility Test(TET) Examination is only eligible to choose the Language subject against the Language-I paper from amongst 8(eight) Languages so prescribed. The learned counsel has further contended that for Language-II paper, no selection of Language subject is