JUDGMENT :

SANJIB BANERJEE, C.J.

In view of the good grounds shown, the delay of about 25 days in preferring the appeal is condoned and the appeal is taken up for immediate consideration.

2. The issue in this appeal pertains to an amendment effected by the State government to the set of executive guidelines that it has issued to educational institutions to which it grants financial aid.

3. At the outset, it must be appreciated that even though the guidelines are in the form of a set of rules and have been amended by a formal publication in the official gazette on April 8, 2021, the guidelines are not issued under any specific law and, as such, such guidelines may not have any statutory force. Yet the guidelines are effective; in the sense that an educational institution seeking grant-in-aid may not avail of such facility if it does not conform to the guidelines; or, any infraction of its part to adhere to the guidelines may entail the government stopping the grant-in-aid.

4. By a notification of March 23, 2021, Rules 6 and 7 of the original Rules regarding the conduct and discipline of employees of aided educational institutions in the State were somewhat tweaked.

5. Prior to the issuance of such publication, Rules 6 and 7 provided as follows:

“6. No employee shall offer himself as a candidate for election to a Legislative Body or for holding office of any political organisation except in accordance with provisions of Rule 7:

Provided that an employee may seek election as an independent candidate of a panchayat with the previous approval of the managing committee as the case may be but he shall not be entitled to accept any office there under except in accordance with the provision of Rule 7.

“7. Any employee desiring to seek election to Legislative Body or to hold office of any Political Organisation or Local Bodies shall be on compulsory leave without pay from the date of filing his nomination till the announcement of the result by the proper authority and shall be eligible to rejoin his post immediately. In case he is elected, he shall be on compulsory leave without pay from the date of filing his nomination till the termination of his office to which he is elected. Such elected employee shall be allowed to retain a lien on his post for a period not exceeding the full term of the elected body to which the employee is so elected. In the event of such employee joining the post against which he had a lien the interim period of absence on compulsory leave will count for notional increment benefits of pay from the date of such re-joining.”

6. By the notification of March 23, 2021, Rule 7 was completely omitted, the proviso to Rule 6 was also omitted and the words “except in accordance with provisions of Rule 7” appearing at the end of the substantive part of Rule 6 were done away with. Thus, modified Rule 6 of the said Rules, after the notification of March 23, 2021, provided as follows:

“6. No employee shall offer himself as a candidate for election to a Legislative Body or for holding office of any political organisation.”

7. Several assistant professors in government-aided colleges in the State challenged the amendment on the ground that they had been willy-nilly disallowed from holding office in any political organisation or offering their candidature in any election to a public body. The writ court perceived the prayer before it to be for restoration of the old provisions so as to allow the writ petitioners