Gauhati High Court Orders Status Quo Continuation in School Employee Cases

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court, in a recent order, has directed the continuation of a status-quo order previously issued in multiple writ petitions concerning the employment of Grade-IV and LDA employees in various schools across the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area.

The order was passed by the bench of Honourable Mr. Justice Lanusungkum Jamir in connection with WP(C) 667/2023 (Bharat Ch Deka and 39 Ors vs. The State of Assam and 10 Ors) , along with several linked cases including I.A.(Civil)/1198/2025, I.A.(Civil)/1204/2025, I.A.(Civil)/1094/2023, I.A.(Civil)/1103/2023, I.A.(Civil)/1200/2025, WP(C)/4551/2021, WP(C)/673/2023, and I.A.(Civil)/1065/2023.

These cases involve a large number of petitioners, primarily individuals working as Grade-IV employees and Lower Division Assistants (LDA) in high schools and M.E. schools located in the districts of Udalguri, Baksa , Kokrajhar, and Chirang , which fall under the jurisdiction of the Bodoland Territorial Council.

The respondents in these petitions include the State of Assam, represented by the Principal Secretary, Bodoland Territorial Council, the Director of Education (BTC), the BTC itself, and various Inspectors of Schools and District Elementary Education Officers within the concerned districts. The presence of the Additional Principal Secretary, BTC, also serving as Chairman of the District Scrutiny Committee for Baksa , among the respondents suggests that the core dispute likely pertains to service conditions, regularization, or other employment-related matters potentially involving scrutiny of their appointments or status.

During the brief hearing on May 2, 2025, Ms. K. Devi , learned counsel appearing for the petitioners in several of the linked cases, requested an adjournment. Accepting this request, the court ordered the matters to be listed again after three weeks.

Significantly, the court explicitly directed that the status-quo order that had been previously passed in the writ petitions would continue until the next date of hearing . While the specific nature of the status-quo order was not detailed in the provided text of the judgment, such orders typically maintain the existing situation concerning the petitioners' employment or service benefits until the court can further hear and decide the case.

The continuation of the status-quo order provides interim relief to the numerous school employees involved in these cases, preventing any adverse change to their employment status during the period of adjournment.

The cases are expected to be heard again after the three-week period, where the court will likely delve deeper into the arguments and issues raised by the petitioners regarding their service conditions within the BTC administered education system.