Milan Chandra Paul @ Milan Paul vs The State Of Assam And 3 Ors.

Court
Gauhati High Court

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GAHC010212832025

2026:GAU-AS:16102

THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(THE HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM & ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

Writ petition [c] NO. 5729/2025

Sri Milan Chandra Paul @ Milan Paul, Asstt. Teacher, aged
about 57 years, son of Late Sudhir Chandra Paul, Vill.-
Thakurpur, P.O.- Dhingdinga, P.S.- Gossaigaon, District –
Kokrajhar, Bodoland Territorial Region, Assam. E-mail :
[email protected]. Mob. : 9435720131.
……………… Petitioner

- VERSUS -

1. The State of Assam, represented by the Commissioner and
Secretary, Department of Education, Government of Assam,
Dispur, Guwahati – 781006.
2. The Director of Education, Bodoland Territorial Region,
Kokrajhar, P.O.- Kokrajhar, Assam, Pin : 783370.
3. The Inspector of Schools, Kokrajhar District Circle,
Kokrajhar, BTR, Assam. Pin : 783333.
4. Mr. Abu Hasin Md. Emdadul Haque Khandakar, Principle,
Grahampur Higher Secondary School, Kokrajhar, BTR,
Assam. Pin : 783333.
……………… Respondents .

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BEFORE
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY


Advocates :

Advocate for the Petitioner : Mr. B. Deb, Advocate
Advocate for the respondent no. 1 : Mr. P.K. Borah, Standing Counsel,
Education Department

Advocate for the respondent nos. 2 & 3 : Mr. A. Atreya, Standing Counsel, BTC

Advocate for the respondent no. 4 : Mr. S. Islam, Advocate.

Date of hearing : 03.11.2026
Date of pronouncement of judgment : 03.11.2026
Whether the pronouncement is of the
Operative part of the judgment ? : No
Whether the full judgment has been
Pronounced ? : Yes


JUDGMENT

[M. Choudhury, J]
Heard Mr. B. Deb, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. P.K. Borah, learned Standing
Counsel, Education Department for the respondent no. 1; Mr. A. Atreya, learned Standing
Counsel, BTC for the respondent nos. 2 & 3; and Mr. S. Islam, learned counsel for the
respondent no. 4.
2. The petitioner has preferred the instant writ petition under Article 226 of the

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Constitution of India, seeking to invoke the extraordinary and discretionary jurisdiction for a
direction to the respondent authorities to appoint the petitioner as the Principal, Grahampur
Higher Secondary School, District – Kokrajhar, Bodoland Territorial Region [BTR], Assam on
the premise that he is the most eligible and senior most teacher in the School.
3. Before adverting to a process of selection and appointment to the post of Principal,
stated to have been initiated on the basis of an Advertisement dated 02.09.2024, it appears
necessary to refer to the projections made by the petitioner in this writ petition.
3.1. The petitioner has stated that he came to be appointed in a post of Assistant Teacher
at Grahampur Higher Secondary School temporarily against a sanctioned post by an Order
dated 22.01.1992 issued under the hand of the respondent no. 3. By the Order dated
22.01.1992, the petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher in the said School as per
the Scale of Pay mentioned therein with other allowances as admissible under the Rules for a
period of three months w.e.f. from the date of joining in the School. It was further mentioned
that the appointee would automatically be released after expiry of the term of appointment.
However, on 23.12.1992, the respondent no. 3 by an Order of even date regularized the
service of the petitioner in the post of Assistant Teacher at Grahampur Higher Secondary
School from the date of his joining purportedly on the approval of the District Level Selection
Board, Kokrajhar. By an Order dated 25.07.2005 passed by the respondent no. 3, the
petitioner was confirmed in service with permanent retention.
3.2. The petitioner was allowed to undergo the B. Ed. course of one year by an Order dated
26.06.2000 passed by the Deputy Director of Secondary Education, Assam. The petitioner
was accordingly released from duties at Grahampur Higher Secondary School to undergo the
B. Ed. course at the Government B.T. College, Goalpara for a period of one year. The
petitioner successfully completed his B. Ed. examination, held in the month of in June, 2001
from the Government B.T. College, Goalpara and the results of B. Ed. Examination were
announced on 29.11.2001. According to the petitioner, he also completed his M.A. course in
Political Science from Indira Gandhi National Open University [IGNOU] in the year 2021.
3.3. The petitioner has contended that with the above qualification and experience, the

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petitioner is eligible to be selected and appointed as the Principal in the Government Higher
Secondary Schools.
4. It is the case of the petitioner that on 02.09.2024 the respondent no. 2 issued an
Advertisement inviting applications from intending eligible candidates among the cadres of
Post Graduate Teachers of provincialised Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools and
Graduate Teachers of Higher Secondary Schools under the BTC area for filling up 19 nos.
vacancies in the post of Principal in provincialised Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary
Schools under the BTC area, as per Rule 12 of the Assam Secondary Education [Provincialised
Schools] Service Rules, 2018 [‘the Rules, 2018’, for short]. But, the respondent authorities in
the BTC including the respondent no. 2 and the respondent no. 3 did not forward the
Advertisement to the Office of the Principal of Grahampur Higher Secondary School,
Kokrajhar within due time and as a result, the petitioner could not submit his candidature for
the vacancies in the the post of Principal on or before the last date of submission of
application fixed in the Advertisement.
4.1. When the petitioner came to learn about the Advertisement subsequently on
06.12.2024, he immediately submitted an application before the Principal In-Charge,
Grahampur Higher Secondary School on 06.12.2024 to enquire whether the Advertisement
was received by the Office of the Principal, Grahampur Higher Secondary School or not. In
response, the Principal In-Charge, Grahampur Higher Secondary School informed the
petitioner in writing on 10.12.2024 that the Advertisement was not received by his office
either from the respondent no. 2 or from the respondent no. 3. On receipt of the Reply dated
10.12.2024, the petitioner made a Representation before the respondent no. 2 through the
Principal In-Charge, Grahampur Higher Secondary School to consider his candidature for the
post of Principal based on his qualification and seniority. In that connection, the petitioner
drew support from a Seniority List issued under the hand of the Principal In-Charge,
Grahampur Higher Secondary School on 10.12.2024, wherein it was mentioned that the
petitioner was drawing Graduate Scale of Pay on and from 31.01.1992. The above
Representation of the petitioner was duly forwarded by the Principal In-Charge, Grahampur
Higher Secondary School to the respondent no. 2 on 11.12.2024. No response was received

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from the respondent no. 2 thereafter.
5. The petitioner has stated that the cause of action to prefer the writ petition arose
when by an Order dated 30.01.2025 issued under the hand of the respondent no. 2, the
respondent no. 4 came to be appointed in the post of Principal in Grahampur Higher
Secondary School on regular basis.
6. Mr. Deb, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has submitted that inter-se
seniority of the petitioner and the respondent no. 4 would make it evident that the petitioner
was/is senior to the respondent no. 4. He has further submitted that the petitioner has the
qualifications and experience, as laid down in Rule 12[3] of the Rules, 2018, to be selected
and appointed as the Principal in a Higher Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools. Mr. Deb
has further contended that though the respondent no. 4 had acquired the B. Ed. Degree in
the year 2000, but, like the petitioner, the respondent no. 4 did not take any permission from
the competent authority to pursue the B. Ed. Degree course and therefore, the B. Ed. Degree
of the respondent no. 4 is to be treated as an invalid one. Moreover, the respondent no. 4
was working as a Demonstrator [Physics] in Grahampur Higher Secondary School, Kokrajhar
prior to the Order dated 30.01.2025 and, therefore, he lacks the experience to be selected
and appointed as a Principal under Rule 12 of the Rules, 2018.
7. Mr. Atreya, learned Standing Counsel, BTC and Mr. Islam, learned counsel for the
respondent no. 4 have, in unison, submitted that the matter of selection and appointment to
the post of Principal in Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools in the State of Assam
are governed and regulated by the Rules, 2018, as amended, more particularly, Rule 12
thereof and the BTC authorities have followed the same procedure. They have further
contended that by the Order dated 30.01.2025, the respondent no. 4 has already been
appointed as the Principal of Grahampur Higher Secondary School. Conspicuously, the Order
dated 30.01.2025 has not been challenged by the petitioner in the writ petition. It is their
further contention that the Advertisement dated 02.09.2024 was duly published in a number
of widely circulated newspapers on 04.09.2024. Therefore, receipt or non-receipt of a copy of
the Advertisement dated 02.09.2024 by the Principal of Grahampur Higher Secondary School
or by the petitioner through his Principal is inconsequential and immaterial. It is further

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submitted by them that the post of Principal is to be filled up by direct recruitment and the
petitioner failed to submit his application in response to the Advertisement on or before the
last date of submission of application, 18.09.2024. As the petitioner did not take part in the
process of selection initiated pursuant to the Advertisement dated 02.09.2024, admittedly due
to his own fault, the petitioner cannot mount a challenge to the selection and appointment of
the respondent no. 4 as the Principal of Grahampur Higher Secondary School by the Order
dated 30.01.2025, which was done strictly adhering to the procedure set forth in the Rules,
2018.
8. Mr. Borah, learned Standing Counsel, Elementary Education Department, Government
of Assam has adopted the submissions of Mr. Atreya and Mr. Islam.
9. I have considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties and have also
gone through the materials brought on record by the parties through their pleadings.
10. It is an admitted position that for filling up vacancies in the post of Principal in
Provincialised Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools in the BTC, the BTC authorities
have followed the provisions of the Assam Secondary Education [Provincialised Schools]
Service Rules, 2018 [‘the Rules, 2018’ or ‘the 2018 Rules’, for short]. Sub-rule [1] of Rule 12
of the Rules, 2018 has prescribed that the post of Principal in Provincialised Senior Secondary
and Higher Secondary Schools shall be filled up by direct recruitment from the candidates
amongst the cadres of Post Graduate Teachers of Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary
Schools and Graduate Teachers of Higher Secondary Schools as per the procedure laid down
under sub-rule [5] thereof. The minimum qualification for appointment in the Post of Principal
in Higher Secondary Schools have been set forth in sub-rule [3] of Rule 12. As per sub-rule
[5][i] of Rule 12, the Competent Authority is required to make an assessment of the number
of vacancies occurring in the cadre of Principal to be filled up in the next year within the
districts before the end of each year. As per sub-rule [5][ii], applications from the intending
eligible candidates are to be invited through an Advertisement to be published at least in two
widely circulated local newspapers including the School Notice Board.
11. In the Advertisement dated 02.09.2024, the district-wise and school-wise vacancies in

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the post of Principal of Provincialised Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools were
shown. In the Advertisement, a total of nineteen vacancies occurring in four districts within
the BTC/BTR in nineteen numbers of schools were shown. By the Advertisement, applications
were invited from intending eligible candidates among the cadres of Post Graduate Teachers
of Provincialised Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools and Graduate Teachers of
Higher Secondary Schools under the BTC for filling up those nineteen numbers of vacancies in
the post of Principal of Provincialised Senior Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools under
the BTC area in the prescribed Pay Scale with allowances as per Rule 12 of the Rules, 2018.
As per the Advertisement, the last date of submission of application was 18.09.2024.
12. It is an admitted position that the petitioner did not respond to the Advertisement
dated 02.09.2024, which was also published in widely circulated newspapers in terms of Rule
12[5][ii] of the Rules, 2018, in time. In a process of direct recruitment to be undertaken, the
publication of an advertisement to that effect is sine qua non, as evident from Rule 12[5][ii]
of the Rules, 2018. Though it is also a requirement to publish the Advertisement in the school
notice board but when the Advertisement is published in widely circulated newspapers, any
deficiency of publication or otherwise in the school notice board is inconsequential.
13. The petitioner has stated that it was only on 06.12.2024 he wrote to the Principal,
Grahampur Higher Secondary School regarding receipt or otherwise of the Advertisement
published for filling up the vacancies in the post of Principal in the BTR and he was stated to
have been informed by the Principal In-Charge, Grahampur Higher Secondary School on
10.12.2024. But, for establishing the veracity of such contention, the petitioner has not
arrayed the Principal In-Charge, Grahampur Higher Secondary School as a party-respondent
in the present writ petition.
14. From the Order dated 30.01.2025, it is noticed that the appointment of the respondent
no. 4 was pursuant to a recommendation of the Council Level Selection Board and approval
accorded by the BTC. In the Order of Appointment dated 30.01.2025, the respondent no. 4 is
shown to have the qualification of M. Sc., B. Ed. and the experience as Demonstrator in
Grahampur Higher Secondary School.

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15. When the petitioner did not participate in the process of direct recruitment initiated
and undertaken by the respondent BTC authorities by publication of the Advertisement dated
02.09.2024, admittedly due to his own failure to respond in time to the Advertisement
published in widely circulated newspapers on 04.09.2024, this Court is of the considered view
that it is not open for the petitioner to make any assail to the qualification and experience of
the respondent no. 4 by only making a prayer for issuance of a writ in the nature of
mandamus for a direction to the respondent authorities to appoint the petitioner as the
Principal in Grahampur Higher Secondary School, without any specific challenge to the Order
of Appointment dated 30.01.2025. When the Order of Appointment dated 30.01.2025 is not
challenged, the same is not liable to be interfered with.
16. It is pertinent to mention that the Advertisement dated 02.09.2024 was for filing up
nineteen nos. of vacancies in the post of Principal in nineteen nos. of Senior Secondary and
Higher Secondary Schools in BTC area, mentioned therein. A candidate applying in response
to the Advertisement was to be considered for any of the nineteen vacancies, if he was to be
found eligible and declared qualified on merit. In such a situation, the petitioner even if he
had responded to the Advertisement, his candidature would have fallen in consideration
against all the nineteen vacancies not only for Grahampur Higher Secondary School. In such a
scenario, challenge ought to have been against the selection and appointment of all the
candidates against the nineteen posts. Such challenge having not been made, the writ
petition also suffers from non-impleadment of the necessary parties.
17. The contention of the petitioner that he was the most eligible and senior most teacher
in Grahampur Higher Secondary School could have only been adjudicated had the petitioner
participated in the process of selection initiated by the Advertisement dated 02.09.2024 and
as the petitioner did not participate in the process of selection, for the reason already
discussed hereinabove, the said aspect is not required to be gone into the present writ
petition.
18. In view of the discussions made, for the reasons assigned and the findings reached at
as above, the writ petition is found to be devoid of any merit and the same is liable to be
dismissed. The writ petition is accordingly, dismissed. There shall, however, be no order as to

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cost.
JUDGE
Simanta
Das
Digitally signed by Simanta Das
DN: c=IN, o=Personal, postalCode=783384,
l=Bongaigaon, st=Assam, street=TownAbhayapuri,
Ward No4 Tengnamari , Bongaigaon, Bongaigaon
Assam India 783384, title=8727,
2.5.4.20=caa9a1c0be943e0740ca5dfbbfb8695db6814b
46202926df0aea3036caed4e3c,
serialNumber=d950a33227bd4a5ce185958e9d34bdfd7
c09a2ca0a1f463628d94fa581ffcb03,
[email protected], cn=Simanta Das
Date: 2026.11.05 19:49:53 +05'30'
Comparing Assistant