The date on which the vacancy arises will be relevant to decide whether the original Rules or the amended Rules will govern the selection.

PRANAB KUMAR CHATTOPADHYAY, J.

1. THE principal question that arises for our consideration in this appeal is whether the Group D post of Lady Attendant in Kalinagar Girls High School should be filled up by the West Bengal School Service Commission following the provisions of the West Bengal School Service Commission (Amendment) Act, 2008 which came into force on January 1, 2009 or the said vacancy should be filled up following the pre-existing statutory procedures. In other words, the real issue to be decided in the present appeal is whether the vacant post of Group D staff in the concerned school should be filled up following the statutory procedure which was in vogue prior to the commencement of the said West Bengal School Service Commission (Amendment) Act, 2008.

2. THE facts which gave rise to this appeal are briefly stated hereinafter: THE Group D post of Lady Attendant fell vacant in the concerned school on 31st May, 2006. THE concerned District Inspector of Schools granted prior permission for filling up the said Group D post of Lady Attendant on 25th September, 2007. After the issuance of the aforesaid prior permission, the school authority sent requisition to the Employment Exchange for sponsoring the names of the eligible candidates and the concerned Employment Exchange also in response to such request forwarded a list sponsoring the names of 35 candidates on March 27, 2008. In the said list of 35 sponsored candidates the name of the respondent No. 1/writ petitioner was not included. After the grant of prior permission by the District Inspector of Schools concerned in the year 2007 and sponsoring of 35 names by the Employment Exchange in the year 2008, no further steps were taken for filling up the said vacant Group D post of Lady Attendant during the subsequent couple of months. However, on 31st January, 2009 an advertisement was issued in the newspaper inviting applications from the eligible candidates for filling up the said vacancy. In response to the said advertisement, several candidates including the respondent No. 1/writ petitioner herein submitted applications and the Managing Committee of the school asked those candidates including the said respondent No. 1 to appear at the interview which was fixed in the month of August, 2009. The respondent No. 1/writ petitioner herein, however, filed a writ petition alleging inaction on the part of the Managing Committee of the Kalinagar Girls High School for non-submission of the panel of selected candidates in respect of the non-teaching Group D post of Lady Attendant to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Nadia for its approval. According to the appellant, no panel for filling up the said Group D post of Lady Attendant in the concerned school was prepared and, therefore, the Managing Committee of the said school had no occasion to forward any panel and/or papers in relation to the said selection to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Nadia.

3. THE aforesaid writ petition filed by the respondent No. 1 herein was ultimately disposed of on merits by the judgment and order under appeal passed by a learned Judge of this Court whereby and whereunder the school authority was directed to forward the panel prepared by the Selection Committee for filling up the said Group D post of Lady Attendant to the District Inspector of Schools concerned.

4. CHALLENGING the aforesaid direction passed by the learned Single Judge of this court, Secretary of the Managing Committee of the said school filed the present appeal and the connected Stay Application. We have heard the learned Counsel of the respective parties in connection with the aforesaid appeal as well as the connected Stay Application. By consent of the learned Counsel of the respective parties, both the appeal and the connected Stay Application were heard together.

5. MR. Kashi Kanta Moitra, learned Senior Counsel representing the appellant submitted that the members of the Managing Committee of the said school h