Retrospective application of cut-off dates in legislation violating vested rights is unconstitutional under Article 14; tutors as government servants are entitled to equal treatment with regular pay scales.

JUDGMENT :

(Suman Shyam, J)

Introduction :-

This batch of writ petitions instituted by several Venture Educational Institutions, individual as well as groups of teaching and non-teaching staffs of Venture Educational Institutions from the State of Assam, lay challenge to several provisions of “The Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Re-organisation of Educational Institutions) Act, 2017” (hereinafter referred to as “the Act of 2017”) as well as the provisions of “The Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Re-organisation of Educational Institutions) (Amendment) Act, 2018” (here-in-after referred to as the Amendment Act of 2018). The writ petitioners are basically aggrieved due to failure on the part of the State Government of Assam to provincialise their services. Since the vires of the Act of 2017 as well as the Amendment Act of 2018 are under challenge in these writ petitions, hence, by the order dated 27/04/2023 passed in W.P.(c) 2729/2019 and the batch of connected writ petitions, all these 80 writ petitions were bunched together and posted for analogous hearing. During the course of hearing, for the sake of convenience, these writ petitions had been further sub-divided and classified into multiple groups numbered and referred to as Group 1 to 23, based on the different provisions of the Statute that are involved there-in.

2. Since, different provisions of the Act of 2017 and the Amendment Act of 2018 are under challenge in this batch of writ petitions, hence, at the outset the provisions of the Statute under challenge are reproduced herein below for ready reference :-

“THE ASSAM EDUCATION (PROVINCIALISATION OF SERVICES OF TEACHERS AND RE-ORGANISATION OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS) ACT, 2017

2(h) “District Scrutiny Committee” means the District Scrutiny Committee constituted under Section 12 for each District to recommend names of Venture Educational Institutions along with the names of teachers and tutors whose services are considered eligible for provincialisation under this Act.

2 (i) “DISE Code” means District Information System for Education Code prepared by the Sarba Siksha Abhijan, Assam and as available in the records of the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi.

2 (j) “employee” means and includes all serving teachers and tutors as the case may be, of Venture Educational Institutions who have been appointed and joined in the concerned Venture Educational Institution before the 1st day of January, 2011 and whose services are being or would be provincialised under this Act.

2 (t) “Teacher” means Teachers, Assistant Teachers, Classical Teachers and also includes Lectures, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, Professors, Principal, Vice-Principal, Demonstrator, Headmaster, Assistant Headmaster, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and any person of the teaching faculty working in the Venture Educational Institution having required educational and professional qualification as per norms and standards fixed by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (Central Act No. 35 of 2009), National Council for Teachers Education Act, 1993 (Central Act No. 73 of 1993), University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (Central Act No. 3 of 1956) and the relevant rules and regulations framed thereunder and any other Act as the case may be, as applicable on the day of provincialisation and whose services are provincialised under this Act in the post of teacher or in any other post in the teaching faculty but, not as tutor under this Act.

2 (u) "tutor" means and includes Teachers, Assistant Teachers, Classical Teachers and also includes Lecturers, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, Professors, Principal, Vice Principal, Demonstrator, Headmaster, Assistant Headmaster, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent in a provincialised educational institution under this Act who are not eligible for provincialisation of their services an