Authority: Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh)

Order Date: 13 November 2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioners: Dr Mai Kuru Camder, Registrar of NERIST, filed writ petitions WP(C)/339/2026 and WP(C)/389/2026 challenging a suspension order dated 29 May 2026 issued by the Director of NERIST.
  • Respondents: North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST) represented by its Board of Management, Chairman, Director, and Prof Sarat Kumar Patra (Director, NIT Agartala) as a third respondent.
  • The petitioner alleged that the Director was not the appointing or disciplinary authority under Rule 10(1)(a) of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965, and that the Board’s ratification on 29 July 2026 was done while the court was already hearing the writ, rendering it void.
  • The petitioner also sought a mandamus directing a two‑member committee to examine the one‑man committee report dated 15 April 2026 and sought cancellation of an advertisement dated 24 June 2026 for civil engineering posts.

Final Outcome

  • The Court held that the Director of NERIST was not empowered to issue the suspension order because he was neither the appointing authority nor the disciplinary authority under the CCS Rules.
  • The emergency powers granted to the Director under Rule 14(c)(iv) of NERIST’s Memorandum of Association could not override the statutory suspension provisions.
  • The Board of Management’s ratification of the suspension on 29 July 2026, made during the pendency of the writ, was invalid and could not cure the original defect.
  • Accordingly, the suspension order dated 29 May 2026 is set aside and quashed, and the Board’s resolution ratifying it is also set aside to that extent.
  • No further direction is required regarding the two‑member committee inquiry, as the Board had already constituted it, and the Court does not interfere with the advertisement dated 24 June 2026.
  • The petitioner is entitled to be reinstated in a suitable post.

Topics: Administrative Law, Higher Education Governance