The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for proper assertion of reserved category rights at the time of entry into service, and the consequences of fraudulent acquisition of caste certificates.

JUDGMENT

Rajasekhar Mantha, J. - The writ petitioner is a Bench Clerk, Gr.- I under the District Judgeship Malda.

2. The instant writ application has been filed challenging memorandum No. 6942-A (26/G) dated 30.06.2016 and Order No. 253/G which is a gradation list of Grade-II employees in the District Judgeship Malda except employees who are Bench Clerk, Grade-I. Order No. 253/G dated 28th September, 2016 and Order No. 153/G dated 04.07.2016 promoting employees to the post of Bench Clerk, Grade-I from Bench Clerk, Grade-II have also been challenged. The writ petitioner cannot be concerned with any of the other orders except the Order dated 28th September, 2016 fixing the date of viva-voce examination for selection to the post of Sheristadar to be conducted on seniority-cum-merit basis. The other prayers with regard to promotion to other posts cannot be entertained inasmuch as the petitioner is not a candidate to such post. The necessary-parties i.e., persons likely to be affected have also not been made party-respondent to writapplication.

3. The petitioner has submitted that he is a Scheduled Caste candidate and has been recognised as such in a gradation list that was prepared by the District Judgeship Malda being Order 106/G dated 29th April, 2014. He was the senior most in such list. He submits that the promotion to the post of Sheristadar ought to be conducted on the basis of seniority alone as per Part I, Schedule B of the West Bengal District Court (Constitution of Service, Recruitment, Appointment, Probation and Discipline of Employees) Rules, 2015.

4. Ignoring such rules, the petitioner submits that, the District Judgeship at Malda, after inviting opinions from employees under Bench Clerk, Grade-I decided to hold the selection process on the basis of seniority-cum-merit.

5. The Court has received affidavits both from the State and also the High Court Administration.

6. The matter has been argued at length by the petitioner and the State. The moot question raised by the High Court Administration as well as the State Government on which the counsel for the petitioner has argued at length is whether the petitioner in fact belong to the Scheduled Caste category to lay any claim for seniority even in the gradation list published in the year 2014 or be entitled to participate in the promotional process as per the gradation list of 2016. It is only if the petitioner crosses this hurdle, that this Court can enter into the second question as to whether the process and method of promotion to be followed from promotion of Bench Clerk, Grade-I to Sheristadar, Grade-I ought to be seniority alone or merit-cum-seniority or seniority-cum-merit.

7. The parties are, therefore, ad idem and this Court agree that an appropriate decision must first be rendered as regards the petitioner's Scheduled Caste status.

8. The petitioner was appointed on 26th February, 1992 on compassionate ground after the premature retirement of his father one Ramchandra Chowdhury, on medical grounds. The petitioner's father was a Process Server under the Malda Judgeship holding Group D post. Admittedly the petitioner's father belonged to the Baisya Banik Caste and was a General category employee. The order of appointment and joining of the service was subject to police verification and medical examination report. In the verification form submitted by the petitioner and duly signed by him on 13th May, 1992, the petitioner declared as follows :

"Are you a member of Scheduled Case/Scheduled Tribe?

Ans: X No"

No particulars of his caste are mentioned thereat. The petitioner's service was confirmed on 26th February, 1995.

9. The petitioner thereafter obtained a certificate on 16th November, 1997 from the Sub-Divisional Officer, Malda, that he was a Scheduled Caste person belonging to the 'Sunri' (excluding Saha) caste. Based on such certificate the petitioner applied before the District Judge on the 19th of June, 1998 and asked for it to be recorded in his Service Book