ACAUT Nagaland extends support to NNQF; questions MLA, DoSE

Dimapur, Sep. 28 (EMN): The Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) Nagaland has extended support to the Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) in its demand to revoke the move to regularise 154 contractual assistant professors.

The ACAUT, in a press release, stated that “any appointment to public post under the Government of Nagaland must be based on public advertisement, so that equal opportunities are open to all qualified aspirants”.

It stated that the court had passed an interim order “preventing regularisation of contract or ad-hoc after three years of service” after it filed public interest litigation (PIL) against the menace of backdoor appointments in 2015, followed by a writ petition in 2017.

It added that the court had dismissed NNQF’s writ petition filed in 2019 after the State respondents challenged the earlier judgement, “on the grounds of maintainability and locus standi” giving the liberty to the petitioners to file a case again through an appropriate writ petition.

On legislator Azo (Kuzholuzo Nienu) seeking to know from Higher Education minister Temjen Imna Along during the recent NLA session, why the assistant professors had not been regularised, the ACAUT said it was “totally uncalled for”.

“ACAUT also questions the Hon’ble Minister and the respondent assistant professors dubious claim that they have won the case by misinterpreting the order from the temple of justice is inviting contempt of Court. This staged gimmick is obvious since election is knocking at the door and appeasement for electoral gains cannot be ruled out,” read the press release.

While hinting that the NNQF is filing an appropriate petition to challenge the move, it said any action to regularise the services “will amount to defiance of SC landmark judgement in Umadevi’s case and ACAUT writ petition”.

It went on to say that the department of School Education (DoSE) had expressed the inability to regularise the adhoc teachers, who are currently staging a protest, citing ACAUT’s writ petition while “backdoor appointments” continues.

“ACAUT demand the DoSE to make it public as to how many appointments has been made without advertisement till date after passing the order dated 28.7.17. ACAUT would also like to state whether the Department of Higher Education is applying the same yardstick as the DoSE without fear or favour. ACAUT would like to clear the air that the ANATG-15 case has not been impleaded in the Court case,” it stated.

“ACAUT stands for appointments through due process of law based on fair competition and meritocracy for the interest of the future generation,” it added.