The court upheld the requirement of a Graduation Degree for promotions as reasonable and necessary for administrative efficiency, rejecting claims of arbitrary exclusion of petitioners.

JUDGMENT & ORDER (CAV)

(Ashutosh Kumar, CJ)

We have heard Mr. H.K. Das, learned Advocate for the petitioners and Mr. P. Nayak, learned Additional Advocate General, Assam, assisted by Mr. A. Phukan, learned Standing Counsel, General Administration Department for the respondents.

2. The petitioners are primarily aggrieved by the impugned proviso to Rule 5(5) of the Assam Secretariat Service Rules, 2019, by which a Degree of Graduation has been made mandatory qualification for promotion to the post of Superintendent for employees in the feeder post of Senior Administrative Assistant, thereby totally eliminating the promotional prospects of the petitioners, infringing their right to be considered for promotion.

3. The question raised before this Court, therefore, is “whether prescription of a higher educational qualification in the feeder cadre for promotion to the higher post by virtue of an amendment to the Service Rules is constitutionally valid?”

4. In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India and in supersession of the Assam Secretariat Service Rules, 1963, the Assam Secretariat Service Rules, 2019 was brought out, which was gazetted on 13.06.2019.

Under Section 3 of the above-noted Rules of 2019, the class and cadre have been provided. Class-I includes the cadre of

(i) Additional Secretary;

(ii) Joint Secretary;

(iii) Deputy Secretary, and

(iv) Under Secretary. In Class-II, there is a single cadre of Superintendent.

The Rules prescribe that each of the Class shall form an independent cadre and members of any cadre shall have no claim for appointment to a higher cadre except in accordance with the provisions of the Rules.

5. Rule 5 of the Rules of 2019 further provides that recruitment to the cadre of Superintendent in Class-II shall be made by promotion from the select list prepared for this purpose under Rule 7 from amongst the Senior Administrative Assistants in the Secretariat, who have rendered not less than 5(five) years of continuous service as Senior Administrative st Assistants on or before the 1 day of the year in which the selection is made and have passed Group-B training or equivalent as prescribed by the Government from time to time.

The proviso appended to Rule 5 further stipulates that the candidate must possess graduation Degree in any stream as academic qualification from any recognized University.

6. This above-noted proviso to Rule 5 offends the petitioners, whose services are controlled by the Assam Secretariat Subordinate Service Rules, 1963. They were initially appointed as Typists as per Rule 10(1) of the Assam Secretariat Subordinate Service Rules, 1963 (hereinafter to be referred as “Secretariat Subordinate Service Rules, 1963”), who were ultimately promoted to the posts of Senior Grade Typist after completion of minimum 4(four) years of service and then to the cadre of Lower Division Assistant/Junior Administrative Assistant in terms of Rule 8(2) of the Secretariat Subordinate Service Rules, 1963 (as amended) by following the criterion of selection from amongst the Senior Grade Typists of the Secretariat, who are Matriculate/pre-University/Higher Secondary passed.

7. The Secretariat Subordinate Service Rules, 1963 was amended vide Assam Secretariat Subordinate Service (Amendment) Rules, 2012. By the said amendment, Rule 8 & Rule 10 of the earlier Rules were amended, making Graduation as an essential educational qualification for promotion from the feeder post of Senior Grade Typist to Junior Administrative Assistant. However, the Typists recruited in the years 1987 and 1992 were exempted from possessing Graduate Degree for their higher promotions.

8. Not