An administrative order cannot override legislation, and the court must uphold the legal provisions established by legislation.

R. BHATTACHARYYA, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner, the West Bengal National Volunteer Force Members Association, has sought for relief in the Writ application on behalf of the members claiming, inter alia for a mandamous commanding the respondents to show cause as to why the Annexure 'd' should not be set aside along with prayer for certiorari plus other incidental reliefs.

( 2 ) THE facts of the Writ application when brought to close reveal that the National Volunteer Force was set up and organised to aid the police during emergency by the citizens who were entitled to offer themselves to the emergency service.

( 3 ) ACCORDING to the crying need of the hour, the strength of the force was reinforced from time to time fixing the age limit initially up to 35 years which suffered relaxation for raising the age limit up to 50 years. It also under went a further change as manifest from the object and reason of Annexure 'a' appended to the petition by relaxing the age limit to 55 years. The benefit earned by the members of such force is sought to have been titled by a circular dated 28th of April, 1992, Annexure 'd'.

( 4 ) IN the meantime, the members applied for fresh enrolment aided by the certificate of the Anchal Pradhan in terms of the Memo No. 10b-1/8/1834 dated 16. 2. 90. The request by the authorities to all company commanders to prepare list-platoon wise-of non-effective volunteers was translated into action. The members of the Association, since caught up with the crisis for the circular issued dated 28th of April, 1982, through the petitioner no. 1 has come up before this Court in Writ application to secure the desired objective.

( 5 ) THE State Govt. did not put in any affidavit-in-opposition to controvert the claim of the petitioner.

( 6 ) THE learned Counsels for both the parties have advanced their respective submissions on the basis of the materials available on record.

( 7 ) AFTER having heard the learned Counsels for the parties and after having gone through the relevant Annexures, it is predominant that Annexure 'a' appended to the petition speaks in unequivocal term about the relaxation of the age with retrospective effect. There is no material on record that Annexure 'a' was repealed by any subsequent legislation or ordinance. It is surprising that the circular issued as evident from Annexure 'd' preeminently is an administrative circular which cannot take the place of statute. In other words, an administrative order cannot sit on the legislation enacted by the parliament or legislature as the case may be.

( 8 ) THE learned Counsel for the State could not refute the above position of law, as it is manifest that the claim of the petitioners stands on the anvil of Annexure 'a' which is absolute in its operation.

( 9 ) PERSUADED by the aforesaid circumstances, and also in consideration of the legal position, it will be legitimate for the Court to accord relief to the petitioners to strike down the Annexures 'd' dated 28th of April 92.

( 10 ) IN view of the above, the members claiming through the registered association are entitled to the relief as prayed for. Accordingly, the position of the members of the registered Association is restored who are entitled to fresh enrolment on rotational basis. Accordingly, I quash the Annexure 'd' appended to the Writ application and direct the respondents to forebear from giving effect to the same. Let a Writ of certiorari be issued quashing Annexure 'd' to the Writ application, let a Writ of mandamous be also issued commanding the respondents to forebear from giving any effect to the same. The Writ application, accordingly, succeeds to the extent indicated above. There will be no order as to costs. Application succeeds.

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