STATE OF ASSAM ETC. vs KRIPANATH SARMA & ORS. ETC.

The Supreme Court held that the Assistant Secretaries under the Assam Elementary Education Act, 1962, lacked the authority to terminate the services of elementary school teachers appointed under the repealed Assam Basic Education Act, 1954. The Court clarified that while Section 14(3)(iii) grants appointment power to the Assistant Secretary, it must be exercised on the advice of a committee, and the teachers in question were appointed prior to the 1962 Act's enactment. Consequently, the termination orders were invalid as they did not originate from the State Board, which was the proper authority under Sections 34(2) and 38 of the 1962 Act.