JUDGMENT

Dipak Misra, J.

Leave granted in all the special leave petitions.

2. Regard being had to the similitude of the seminal issue that arises for consideration in all these appeals they were heard together and are disposed of by a common judgment. For the sake of clarity and convenience we shall state the facts from Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 6177-6178 of 2012) wherein the challenge is to the judgment and order dated 11.11.2011 in WPST Nos. 269 and 275 of 2011 passed by the High Court of Calcutta.

3. The factual score as depicted is that the Deputy Secretary (Rev.), Irrigation and Waterways Directorate of the Government of West Bengal vide memo No. 773-IE dated 29.6.2006 directed the Director of Personnel and Ex-Officio Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Waterways, to issue instructions to the Superintending Engineers of different circles to call for names of eligible candidates for recruitment to 1446 group ‘D’ posts under the irrigation and Waterways Directorate, Government of West Bengal. In pursuance of the said direction the departmental authorities in accordance with Section 4 of the West Bengal Regulation of Recruitment in State Government Establishments and Establishments of Public Undertakings, Statutory Bodies, Government Companies and Local Authorities Act, 1999 (for brevity ‘the Act’) requisitioned names from many an employment exchange. At this juncture, many aspirants approached the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal (for short ‘the tribunal’) which permitted the applicants therein to participate in the selection process. Eventually, 57,437 candidates took part in the selection process. It is apt to note here that 24520 candidates were sponsored by the employment exchange. After following due procedure a select list of the selected candidates was prepared and the same was published on 24.7.2010.

4. As the facts would unfurl, the respondents 4 and 5 preferred O.A. No. 454 of 2010 before the tribunal assailing the process of selection. The tribunal by its order dated 26.8.2010 declined to pass an interim order which was challenged before the High Court in WPST No. 542 of 2010 wherein the High Court passed an order that if any panel had already been prepared, no effect should be given to such a panel and no appointment from the said panel should be given till disposal of the original application before the tribunal. Thereafter, the tribunal by its judgment dated 30.8.2011, after hearing the applicants and some of the selectees who were impleaded as parties and the State of West Bengal, came to hold that as the Department had not advertised the posts in the newspapers and the entire recruitment process had taken place by calling names from the employment exchange and hence, the selection was vitiated. Be it noted, similar orders were passed by the tribunal at the instance of other applicants in other original applications and all the aggrieved parties approached the High Court in different writ petitions. The High Court on different dates disposing of the writ petitions has concurred with the view expressed by the tribunal by opining that the plea of limitation raised before the tribunal was sans substance and the restricted selection by calling for names from the employment exchange invites the frown of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and, accordingly, dismissed the writ petitions. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid orders, the present appeals have been preferred by way of special leave.

5. We have heard Mr. L. Nageswara Rao, learned senior counsel, and Mr. Chanchal Kumar Ganguli, learned counsel for the appellants and Mr. Kalyan K. Bandopadhay, learned senior counsel for the State. Despite notice, no one has appeared for the contesting respondents.

6. On a perusal of the orders passed by the tribunal and the High Court it is evincible that on a singular ground, namely, there was no advertisement for direct recruitment the select list was quashed. For arriving at the said conclusion reliance has bee