Partly allowed

Dhani Ram Saikia v. State of Assam and 3 Ors.

Gauhati HC10 Aug 2022WP(C)/7831/2016

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In a writ petition, the petitioner claimed a verbal 1993 agreement to employ his family in Grade-III/IV posts after donating land to Kalabari College. The Court accepted documents as evidence of donation and directed respondents to offer temporary or preferential treatment for employment.

What did the court decide?

Direction issued to Principal and Secretary of Kalabari College to appoint petitioner's family member temporarily within 3 weeks, and thereafter grant preferential treatment in future vacancies within

Dhani Ram Saikia Vs State of Assam and 3 Ors. — Service and Employment | Gauhati HC (2022)

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GAHC010124232016

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

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Case No. : WP(C)/7831/2016

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DHANI RAM SAIKIA

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S/O LT. MALBHOG SAIKIA VILL- KALABARI BRAHMAN GAON P.O. KALABARI DIFALU SATRA DIST. BISWANATH CHARIALI, ASSAM.

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VERSUS

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STATE OF ASSAM and 3 ORS.

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REP. BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-6.

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2:THE DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION GOVT. OF ASSAM KAHILIPARA GUWAHATI -19.

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3:THE PRINCIPAL KALABARI COLLEGE P.O. KALABARI DIST. BISWANATH CHARIALI.

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4:THE SECRETARY/PRESIDENT KALABARI COLLEGE

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P.O. KALABARI DIST. BISWANATH CHARIALI.

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5:SRI UTTAM HAZARIKA LIBRARY ASSISTANT KALABARI COLLEGE

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6:SRI PRANAB BORAH SENIOR ASSISTANT KALABARI COLLEGE

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7:SRI BAYANTA BORAH SENIOR ASSISTANT KALABARI COLLEGE

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8:SRI HIRANYA BORAH JUNIOR ASSISTANT KALABARI COLLEGE

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9:SRI JITU SARMAH JUNIOR ASSISTANT KALABARI COLLEGE

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10:SRI UMESH BHUYAN JUNIOR ASSISTANT KALABARI COLLEGE

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11:SRI GUNA RAM BORAH LIBRARY BEARER KALABARI COLLEGE

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12:SRI ATUL BHUYAN GRADE-IV EMPLOYEE KALABARI COLLEGE

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13:SRI KHAGEN BHARALI GRADE-IV EMPLOYEE KALABARI COLLEGE

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14:SRI PARESH KALITA GRADE-IV EMPLOYEE KALABARI COLLEGE

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15:SRI NIROD PHUKAN GRADE-IV EMPLOYEE KALABARI COLLEGE P.O.- KALABARI DIST.- BISWANATH CHARIALI ASSAM PIN

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Advocate for the Petitioner : MR.B HUSSAIN

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Advocate for the Respondent : MS.H DASR- 3and4

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B E F O R E

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HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE LANUSUNGKUM JAMIR

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10-08-2022

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Heard Mr. K.K. Mahanta, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. P.B. Mazumdar, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. K. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel, Higher Education Department for Respondents No.1 and 2; Mr. S.K. Talukdar, learned counsel for Respondents No.3 and 4; and Mr. A. Acharya, learned counsel for Respondents No.5 to 15.

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The petitioner, who is a permanent resident of Kalabari Brahman Gaon, in the District of Biswanath Chariali, Assam, donated 25 bighas of land for establishment of Kalabari College in the year 1993. While donating the land, a verbal agreement was made between the Governing Body of Kalabari College and the petitioner that two members of his family would be provided with employment in Grade-III and Grade-IV posts respectively. Since the year 1993, till date, despite vacancies being available, none of the petitioner’s family members were appointed to Grade-III or Grade-IV post and, therefore, being aggrieved the present writ petition is filed praying for a direction to the respondents to appoint two members of the petitioner’s family to any Grade-III or Grade-IV posts, as already promised by the Governing Body of Kalabari College in the year 1993.

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Mr. K.K. Mahanta, learned senior counsel for the petitioner draws the

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attention of the Court to the letter written by the President and Secretary of Kalabari Mahavidyalaya Governing Body addressed to Hon’ble Minister, Panchayat and Rural Development & Elementary Education, Government of Assam, wherein it is stated that the Governing Body has accepted 25 bighas of land from the petitioner on the condition to provide employment to two of his family members in Grade-III and Grade-IV posts to his family. In the said letter, it also indicated that the documents are still with the Governing Body. Further, over the said letter, there is an endorsement addressed to the Director of Higher Education by the Minister of Panchayat and Rural Development and Elementary Education, Government of Assam, strongly recommending for creation of a Grade-III post, as prayed for. Learned senior counsel also refers to the Felicitation letter dated 2.2.2015 written by the Principal/President and addressed to the petitioner wherein the petitioner is referred to as the donor.

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Learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner’s family members have been deprived for more than 29 years for being appointed in a Grade-III and Grade-IV posts, as agreed to between the petitioner and the Governing Body of the College in the year 1993. It is also submitted that during the pendency of this writ petition, the Principal of the Kalabari College had approached the petitioner by way of a letter dated 6^th September, 2017 offering Sri Dhrubajyoti Saikia, the grandson of the petitioner for temporary appointment as a Computer Assistant, subject to the condition that he withdraws the present writ petition. The said letter dated 6^th September, 2017 is annexed to the reply-affidavit of the petitioner to the affidavit-in-opposition filed by Respondents no.3 and

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Basing on these three documents, the learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that though there is no written agreement between the Governing Body and the petitioner, these documents clearly proves that the petitioner is the original donor of the 25 bighas of land for establishment of the Kalabari College in the year 1993. He, therefore, submits that a direction be issued to the respondents to forthwith appoint any members of the petitioner’s family to a Grade-III and Grade-IV post, as agreed upon in the year 1993.

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Respondents No.3 and 4, who are the Principal and Secretary of Kalabari College, has filed affidavit denying the averments made in the writ petition. It is stated that the factum of donation of land is not established by the petitioner and the College authorities disputes the same, particularly in the absence of contemporaneous record in this respect. Learned counsel for Respondents No.3 and 4 also submits that there is no vacancy available in the College and as the College has already been provincialised, the Governing Body does not have any authority to appoint any family member of the petitioner. He also states that all other vacancies that were available have already been filled up by making advertisements, however as none of the petitioner’s family made any applications against those vacant posts at the relevant point of time their cases could not be considered by the Respondents No.3 and 4. Learned counsel also submits that the petitioner has failed to place any document before this Court to establish that he has donated 25 bighas of land to Kalabari College and in the absence of such documents, the claim of the petitioner that he has donated the land belonging to the College is without any substance.

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Mr. J. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel, Higher Education Department, on the other hand, submits that if any appointment is to be made with regard to the family members of the petitioner, the same would have to be done in accordance with the procedure laid down by law and therefore no order or direction be issued to the official respondents to appoint the family members of the petitioner to Grade-III and Grade-IV posts.

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I have heard the learned counsel for the parties.

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This Court has considered the affidavit-in-opposition filed by Respondents No.3 and 4. The argument of the learned counsel for the Respondents No.3 and 4 that the petitioner has failed to produce any document to substantiate his claim that he is the original donor of the land to the Kalabari College, has also been considered.

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At this stage, it is imperative to consider the letter which is written by the President and Secretary of Kalabari Mahavidyalaya Governing Body addressed to the Hon’ble Minister, Panchayat and Rural Development and Elementary Education, Assam. In the said letter, it is clearly stated that the Governing Body of the College accepted 25 bighas of land from the petitioner on the condition of providing two posts in Grade-III and GradeIV to his family. Further in the said letter, it is clearly stated that the documents are still with the Governing Body. This by itself would clearly indicate that the petitioner is the original land donor of 25 bighas of land to the Kalabari College. The submission of the learned counsel for Respondents No.3 and 4 stands belied by this document, which is annexed as Annexure-3 to the writ petition. Over the said letter, the Minister of

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State, (Ind) P&RD and Elementary Education, Government of Assam, strongly recommended for creation of a Grade-III post, as prayed for by the Governing Body. The said recommendation was directed to the Director of Higher Education. However, it is not discernible in the absence of any pleadings by Respondents No.3 and 4 that the said Grade-III post was sanctioned by the government.

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The second point of note is the letter dated 6^th September, 2017 written by the Principal and addressed to the petitioner whereby an offer was made to the petitioner’s grandson Sri Dhrubajyoti Saikia to serve as Computer Assistant temporarily subject to the condition that the present writ petition is withdrawn. Despite the denial made by Respondents No.3 and 4 that the petitioner is not the land donor of Kalabari College, the offer made in the letter dated 6.9.2017 clearly establishes the fact that the petitioner is the donor of the land for the establishment of Kalabari College. In view of the two uncontroverted documents, this Court has no hesitation to come to the conclusion that the petitioner is the donor of land for establishment of Kalabari College.

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This Court has also taken into consideration the fact that at present the Kalabari College is already a provincialized College and, therefore, if any order for appointment is to be made, the same is to be made by the official respondents on the recommendation made by the Governing Body of the said College.

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In that view of the matter, a direction is issued to Respondents no.3 and 4 to give appointment to any family members of the petitioner, as offered by the Principal of Kalabari College in the letter dated 6^th

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September, 2017 within a period of 3(three) weeks from today. However, the direction is not for permanent appointment and only for temporary appointment.

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Thereafter, if any Grade-III and Grade-IV vacancy arises, the Governing Body of the College shall consider the claim of the petitioner’s family members by giving them preferential treatment amongst other candidates and, thereafter, recommend the name of the family members of the petitioner to the Director of Higher Education, who in turn, shall ensure that the appointment letter is issued to the recommended candidate of the family members of the petitioner. Considering that the petitioner’s family member has been deprived of appointment despite several opportunities being available in the past, it is directed that the aforesaid direction be carried out and implemented within a period of three months from the date of receipt of this order by the Respondents No.3 and 4.

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It is also made clear that this direction is made considering the peculiar facts of this case and shall not be a precedence for other cases.

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With the aforesaid direction, this writ petition stands disposed of.

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JUDGE

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Comparing Assistant

Dhani Ram Saikia v. State of Assam and 3 Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Dhani Ram Saikia v. State of Assam and 3 Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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