Non-compliance with mandatory conditions specified in the advertisement can lead to rejection of a candidate's application, and the authority concerned cannot condone such lapses if the conditions are not relaxable.

1. This application for review has been filed by the appellant seeking review of the order passed by another Division Bench of this Court on 27th June, 2016. This review application has been assigned to this Bench for disposal.

2. Accordingly we have heard the learned Counsel for the parties on this review application.

3. Let us now consider the merit of the review application in the facts of the instant case.

4. Pursuant to an advertisement issued by the concerned authority for filling up the post of Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) reserved for OBC candidates, many candidates applied for the said post. However, three candidates were short-listed who were allowed to participate in the Selection Process. After assessing the performance of those three candidates a panel was prepared. The appellant occupied the 1st position in the said panel, the writ petitioner occupied the 2nd position in the said panel and one Swapna Kamila (Rana) occupied the 3rd position in the said panel. The appellant was ultimately selected for her engagement in the said post of ANM and she was given appointment in the said post.

5. The selection of the appellant was challenged by the writ petitioner who occupied second position in the said panel on the ground that the appellant having failed to produce the caste certificate within the cut off date, as prescribed in the advertisement ought not to have been selected for engagement in the said post.

6. Admittedly, the appellant could not produce the caste certificate within the cut off date as mentioned in the advertisement. The consequence for non-production of the certificate by the candidate within the cut off date was also mentioned in the said advertisement. It was mentioned in the advertisement that if the certificates which were required to be submitted by the applicant are not submitted within the cut off date specified in the advertisement, the application of the said candidate will be rejected.

7. Having regard to the fact that the appellant admittedly could not produce her caste certificate within the cut off date as specified in the advertisement, she, in our view, should have been excluded from the zone of consideration. In our view, the appellant should not have been permitted to participate in the selection process as she could not satisfy the requisite condition as mentioned in the said advertisement.

8. Mr. Chatterjee, learned Senior Counsel, appearing for the petitioner in support of his review application submits that though it is true that the appellant could not produce the caste certificate within the cut off date but she produced her caste certificate before the selection process was completed.

9. He further submits that delay in production of the caste certificate by the appellant before the concerned authority was caused due to negligence on the part of the issuing authority. He further submits that when the caste certificate was submitted by the appellant before completion of the selection process, the delay in production of the said Caste certificate should have been condoned by the concerned authority, particularly when the selecting authority and the caste certificate issuing authority were same.

10. Such submission of Mr. Chatterjee does not convince us very much, as here is the case where the consequence of non-submission of the caste certificate was mentioned in the advertisement itself. When the consequence of non-submission of the caste certificate within the cut off date was mentioned in the advertisement itself, the condition regarding submission of such caste certificate within the cut off date should be regarded as mandatory condition, non-compliance of which will attract the rejection Clause automatically as the authority was left with no jurisdiction to condone such lapses on the part of the candidate by treating the said condition as optional. The authority concerned could have relaxed non-compliance of such condition by a candidate concerned, if the condition was