HC Stays Absorption of Ad-hoc Doctor in Basic Teacher Post, TTAADC Regularizes Ad-hoc Promotions Without State Approval
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, September 20, 2025
In a significant order with far-reaching implications for service matters, the Tripura High Court has stayed the absorption of a medical officer into the post of Basic Teacher, while the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) has separately issued a notification regularizing all ad-hoc promotions without state government approval.
A division bench of Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice S. Datta Purkayastha passed the stay order on September 11 in Writ Appeal No. 17 of 2024. The case was filed by Dr. Nazma Debbarma challenging the state government’s decision to absorb Dr. Chandan Kumar Tripura, M.S (ST) (Sl. No. 15 of Notification dated June 27, 2024) into the Basic Teacher cadre under the Tripura Medical Education (Administrative & Faculty) Service Conditions Rules, 2015.
The court observed that under the 2015 Rules, only Medical Officers of Grade III and IV are eligible for absorption as Basic Teachers. However, respondent No. 5, Dr. Tripura, who was promoted from Grade III to Grade II on December 31, 2021, was considered eligible despite the promotion being described as “ad-hoc” due to pending litigation on reservation policies before the Supreme Court.
The bench held that such nomenclature was misleading, noting:
The promotion of respondent No. 5 was “in fact a regular promotion though subject to result in the SLPs” and could not be termed as ad-hoc.
An “ad-hoc promotion” cannot continue for long periods, especially exceeding two years, as it is meant only as a stop-gap arrangement.
Consequently, respondent No. 5 was not eligible for absorption into the Basic Teacher post.
The court stayed the June 27, 2024 order of absorption and fixed October 29, 2025 for reconsideration of the 2021 promotion policy by the state government.
Meanwhile, in a parallel move, the TTAADC has regularized all ad-hoc promotions across its departments with prospective effect. A notification signed by Additional Chief Executive Officer Amit Debbarma on September 19, 2025 clarified that:
Regular promotions will now come into force for different categories of officers and employees.
Promotions granted to retired employees on an ad-hoc basis will not be counted for regularization or financial benefits.
These two developments, judicial intervention in state service matters and unilateral administrative action by the TTAADC are expected to have a major impact on promotion policies, recruitment norms, and service conditions in Tripura.
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