Barnali Barbaruah 2 Ors vs State Of Assam And 3 Ors

1) Heard Mr. D. Baruah, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. B. Gogoi, learned standing counsel for the respondent nos. 1, 3 and 4 and

Mr. K. Konwar, learned standing counsel for respondent no. 2.

2) The petitioners claim that having rendered 5 (five) years of service as Soil Conservation Rangers, they were otherwise eligible to take part in the

direct recruitment process for the post of Assistant Soil Conservation Officer and accordingly, the present writ petition has been filed under Article

226 of the Constitution of India on being aggrieved by the recruitment advertisement dated 27.04.2021, prescribing experience criteria of ‘8

years’ as Soil Conservation Rangers. The learned State Counsel and the learned Standing Counsel have both vehemently opposed this writ

petition.

3) The documents annexed to this writ petition disclose that there is no Service Rules in force in the Soil Conservation Department. Accordingly, the

Government in the Soil Conservation Department had issued a notification no. Soil.25/78 dated 29.10.1988. Clause 8 thereof provides for promotion,

and it is provided that the candidates for promotion to the higher post shall have (i) soil conservation training, and (ii) minimum 5 years service in the

cadre post from which promotion to the higher post shall be made excepting Soil Conservation Demonstrator (Senior) in whose case minimum 10

years service as Soil Conservation Demonstrator shall be required. Under Order 6, applicable for direct recruitment, Schedule-II has been provided in

the said 1988 Order, inter-alia, providing preference to candidate having at least 8 (eight) years experience as Soil Conservation Ranger or Forest

Ranger under the Government of Assam. The recruitment advertisement no. 5PSC/DR-5/1/2021-2022 dated 27.04.2021 issued by the APSC is found

to contain same experience qualification as is prescribed in the herein before referred Soil Conservation Department notification no. Soil.25/78 dated

29.10.1988 and Schedule-II contained therein.

4) The learned counsel for the petitioner had submitted that the Draft Assam Soil Conservation Service Rules, 2017 for Gazetted Officer prescribed

experience criteria as 5 (five) years in place of 8 (eight) years and therefore, as educational qualification was amended vide notification dated

01.10.2019 to make it in consonance with the Draft Rules, the experience criteria should also be taken as 5 years. The Court finds that the said plea is

contrary to the record and well settled principles of law. Firstly, vide notification no. Soil.138/2019/3 dated 01.10.2019, the Government had amended

the Assam Soil Conservation Department (Recruitment and Promotion to the Service) Orders, 1988, which establishes that the Draft Service Rules,

2017 is still in the “draft†stage and was never acted upon. Secondly, when the Government and the competent authorities are acting in

conformity with the Assam Soil Conservation Department (Recruitment and Promotion to the Service) Orders, 1988 which is in full force and effect,

and that the recruitment advertisement is as per the said 1988 Order, merely because the Government had amended the educational qualification as

reflected in the Draft Rules, it cannot be said that the for direct recruitment the 2017 Draft Rules should be followed or that the experience criteria

should be relaxed for the petitioner. It is well settled that in a given case, the power to relax may be available with the competent authority in the

Government if the Act, Rules, Notification or Executive/Administrative Orders so prescribe, but the experience criteria cannot be relaxed by the Court

at the drop of a hat and on a mere asking. The petitioners have neither pleaded about their right to claim relaxation nor any justifiable reasons has been

pleaded for claiming relaxation of experience criteria.

5) Therefore, the writ petition fails as it is found without any merit whatsoever and the same is dismissed in limine without issuing notice upon the

respondents. However, without cost.