Mamata Sur vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 791 Cal

30.01.2023 (D/L-13) Ct.-18 (Susanta) W.P.A. 24650 of 2022

Mamata Sur

-Vs-

The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Balailal Sahu, Mr. Sankha Prasad Ray, Mr. Chandan Chkraborty, .... For the petitioners.

Dr. Sutanu Kumar Patra, Ms. Supriya Dubey, .... For the S.S.C.

Mr. Supriyo Chattopadhyay, Ms. Sayantanee Bhattacharjee, .... For the State.

The petitioner participated in the 1st State

Level Selection Test, 2016 for recruitment of

Assistant Teachers in upper Primary level Schools in

the subject English.

The grievance of the petitioner is that she was

not called for personality test.

Dr. Patra, learned counsel for the Commission

submits that the petitioner since has acquired her

professional qualification after the last date of

submission of the application for such appointment,

she is not entitled to be called for the personality

test.

Mr. Balailal Sahu, learned counsel for the

petitioner submits that as the application from both

the trained and untrained candidates were invited,

the petitioner cannot be denied the opportunity of

the personality test for want of professional

qualification on the cut-off date for submission of

such application, particularly when the petitioner

had acquired the B.Ed qualification prior to the date

fixed for verification of the documents of the

candidates found eligible in the written test.

September 24, 2016, was the last date for

submission of the application in relation to the

selection process of 2016. The petitioner admittedly

had obtained her B.Ed degree in the year 2018.

The third proviso appended to Rule 4(1) of the

West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection

for appointment to the post of Teachers for upper

primary level of Schools) Rules, 2016 mandates that

the certificates received on or before the last date of

the application and mentioned in the application

form, shall be counted for academic and professional

qualification.

Besides aforesaid, the entire selection process

of 2016 was once set aside by a Co-ordinate Bench

of this Court vide judgment and order dated

December 11, 2020 passed in the W.P.A 9597 of

2019 along with other similar matters. The

Commission, by the said judgment was directed to

hold fresh selection process of all candidates who

were found eligible under Rule 12(2) of the aforesaid

Rules, 2016.

The learned Single Judge in the said judgment

did not accept the argument of the Commission that

third proviso to the Rule 4(1) of the said Rules, 2016

is directory and procedural in nature.

The necessary corollary of the aforesaid

finding is that the said proviso is mandatory.

That being the position, this Court is of the

opinion that the petitioner is not entitled to be called

for the personality test, accordingly W.P.A. 24650 of

2022 is dismissed. There shall, however, be no order

as to costs.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to

compliance with all requisite formalities.

(Biswajit Basu, J.)