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2006 Supreme(Cal) 486
High Court Of Calcutta
Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Prabuddha Sankar Banerjee
DAYAMAYEE MONDAL - Appellant
Versus
INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED - Respondent
M. A. T. 1863 Of 2004
Decided On : 08/07/2006
A.GUHARAY, ANINDYA MITRA, KALYAN BANDOPADHYAY, Kartick Bhattacharyya, RANJAN BACHAWAT, S.DASGUPTA, SWAPAN BANERJEE
Possession of a valid Scheduled Caste certificate at the time of application is a mandatory requirement for selection as an LPG distributor under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 1959.
Headnote:
LPG DISTRIBUTORSHIP - SELECTION - SCHEDULED CASTE CERTIFICATE - VALIDITY - MANDAMUS APPEAL - [PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS RULES, 1959 - RULE 9] - This appeal concerns the selection of an LPG distributor by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The appellant, a female candidate from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, challenged the selection of the private respondent, also an SC female, on the ground that she did not possess the requisite SC certificate at the time of application. The court held that possession of a valid SC certificate at the time of application was a must, as per the advertisement issued by IOC. The court set aside the selection of the private respondent and directed IOC to select the appellant in her place.
Fact of the Case:
The appellant, a female candidate from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, applied for an LPG distributorship advertised by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The private respondent, also an SC female, was selected as the distributor. The appellant challenged the selection on the ground that the private respondent did not possess the requisite SC certificate at the time of application.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that possession of a valid SC certificate at the time of application was a must, as per the advertisement issued by IOC. The court found that the private respondent did not possess the SC certificate at the time of application and that she obtained it only after the interview was over. The court held that the selection of the private respondent on the basis of an invalid application was void ab initio.
Issues: 1. Whether possession of a valid SC certificate at the time of application was a requirement for the LPG distributorship. 2. Whether the private respondent possessed the requisite SC certificate at the time of application. 3. Whether the selection of the private respondent on the basis of an invalid application was valid.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the advertisement issued by IOC clearly stated that candidates belonging to the SC category should possess a certificate of SC category issued by a competent authority notified by the Government of India. The court held that this requirement was mandatory and that an application without a valid SC certificate could not be considered. 2. The court found that the private respondent did not possess the SC certificate at the time of application. The court relied on the fact that the private respondent had submitted a caste certificate issued by the Gram Panchayat, which was not a competent authority to issue such certificates. 3. The court held that the selection of the private respondent on the basis of an invalid application was void ab initio. The court relied on the principle that a decision based on an invalid application is void and cannot be sustained.
Final Decision: The court allowed the appeal, set aside the selection of the private respondent, and directed IOC to select the appellant in her place.
( 1 ) THIS mandamus appeal at the instance of the appellant is against the order passed by a learned Single judge in W. P. No. 2642 (W) of 2004.
( 2 ) THE said writ application was brought by the present appellant against indian Oil Corporation and private respondent No. 4 challenging the selection of private respondent No. 4 as LPG Distributor at Khairasole, District Birbhum.
( 3 ) PURSUANT to the guidelines by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas, Indian Oil Corporation published an advertisement on 16. 02. 2002 in the Ananda Bazar Patrika by which they invited application from female candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste category. Some criteria were duly mentioned in the advertisement for applying for the said dealership.
( 4 ) THE present appellant along with the respondent No. 4 and few others applied for the said distributorship. The Indian Oil Corporation finally selected the respondent No. 4 as LPG distributor. The present appellant challenged the said selection on the ground that on the day of application, the private respondent No. 4 had no requisite qualification and was not a member of the Scheduled Caste community.
( 5 ) THE learned Single Judge by the order impugned dismissed the application on the ground that such disputed question of fact cannot be agitated in the writ jurisdiction. The learned Single Judge was satisfied on the basis of xerox copy of the caste certificate of private respondent No. 4 and on the basis of the same he dismissed the writ application as the same was without any substance.
( 6 ) SRI Kalyan Bandopadhyay, learned senior Counsel appearing for the appellant challenged the impugned order mainly on the following grounds:i) That at the time of submission of the application before the appropriate authority, the respondent No. 4 did not possess the requisite Scheduled caste certificate. ii) That the learned Single Judge erred in rejecting tne writ application without considering the fact that the present appellant had strong case in her favour.
( 7 ) SRI Bandopadhyay further contended at the time of hearing that the present appellant is to be selected as LPG Distributor as she was serial no. 2 in the panel
prepared by the Indian Oil Corporation.
( 8 ) SRI Kartick Bhattacharyya, learned Counsel appearing for the respondent No. 4, however, contended that the respondent No. 4 had requisite caste certificate at the relevant time as she produced the Scheduled Caste certificate of her brothers and also became a member of Scheduled Caste community after her marriage with her husband who also belongs to the scheduled Caste community. Sri Bhattacharya further contended that the scheduled Caste certificate of the respondent No. 4 was duly produced before the appropriate authority after the same was obtained subsequently. Sri bhattacharya further submitted that there was no irregularity or illegality on the part of the Indian Oil Corporation in selecting bis client as the LPG distributor for the area as the same was done after observing all the formalities.
( 9 ) SRI Mitra, learned senior Counsel appearing for the Indian Oil corporation also supported the impugned order. Sri Mitra contended further that the advertisement does not provide that the Scheduled Caste certificate must be submitted along with the application.
( 10 ) IT is not disputed that when the private respondent No. 4 applied for the said dealership, she did not submit her own Scheduled Caste certificate issued by the competent authority. At that time, Scheduled Caste certificate issued by the Gram Panchayat was submitted.
( 11 ) SRI Bandopadhyay appearing for the appellant at the time of hearing referred to the advertisement and on the basis of the same it was submitted that possession of valid certificate at the time of submission of the application was a must. Sri Bandopadhyay further submitted that the Indian Oil corporation called the respondent No. 4 for the interview on 16. 10. 2003 an
