The main legal point established in the judgment is that while discrepancies were found in the recruitment process, specific instances of impropriety or malafides were not demonstrated by the petitioners. The Court also noted that the writ petitions could not have been entertained without impleading the selected candidates.

JUDGMENT

Rajasekhar Mantha, J. - Common issues arise in these batch of writ petitions. Arguments have been advanced by three sets of Counsels for the petitioners in the following writ petitions.

i. WP 1330 (W) of 2014 - Ruma Das and Ors. Vs. West Bengal Central School Service Commission and Ors.,

ii. WP 2250 (W) of 2016 - Sayed Sultan Ali Vs. State of West Bengal and

iii. WP 5385 (W) of 2015 - Shikshak Chhatra Oikya Sangram Manch Vs. State of West Bengal.

2. The petitioners in other applications did not choose to argue separately and are, therefore, deemed to have adopted the aforesaid arguments.

3. The subject matter of challenge is the recruitment process to the post of Assistant Teachers initiated pursuant to the advertisement No. 01/AT/11 dated 29.12.2011 issued by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).

4. The process involved includes an Eligibility test [also called Teacher Eligibility Test (TET)], a Subject Test and a Personality Test (Interview). Only those candidates who obtained 60% and above marks in the TET had their subject test answers assessed. Thereafter those who obtained 40% and above marks in the subject test were to be called for personality test/interview. The recruitment was to be conducted in terms of the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection to the Post of Teachers) Rules of 2007 as amended in 2011( 2007 Rules)

5. The Teachers Eligibility Test was conducted on 29th July, 2012, results whereof were published on the 1st of December, 2012. The Subject test was thereafter conducted and results thereof were published on 6th August 2013 and interviews were conducted on or about 28th August, 2013.

6. On the 25th September, 2013 a list called "Combined Merit List" was published indicating the marks obtained by each candidate. At the time of Advertisement in December, 2011, about 6891 vacancies were declared. The same was subject to change based on vacancy reports from the Districts to be received even until after the written tests.

7. In a writ petition being WP (Civil) No. 94 of 2012 filed by West Bengal Untrained Teachers'' Association and Anr. Vs. State of West Bengal, by order dated 2nd February, 2014 a two-Judge Bench of the Hon''ble Supreme Court sought answers to the following questions from the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), in connection with the subject recruitment process.

a. "How many teachers with requisite qualification are available for appointment?

b. How many of them are trained and how many of them are untrained as per Rules?

c. How many posts are available?

d. In the test also, how many trained and qualified teachers passed; and how many qualified and untrained teachers have passed; and how many unqualified and untrained candidates passed?"

8. In reply thereto the SSC indicated on affidavit that there were 36,140 teachers with requisite qualifications available for appointment. It was further indicated in the said affidavit that 82,517 trained candidates (with B.Ed qualification) and 5,63,761 untrained candidates appeared in selection tests held by the Commission. The Hon''ble Supreme Court, thereafter, disposed of the matter directing issue to be decided in the pending writ petitions, before this Court.

9. There is another relevant aspect. By a Judgment and Order dated 7th February, 2013 passed in WP 1019 (W) of 2013 in Tania Ghosh and Anr. Vs. State of West Bengal and Ors., a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court had ordered that in the recruitment process under the 12th Regional Level Selection Test (RLST) preference in appointments must be given first to candidates who possess minimum qualifications (B.Ed) as prescribed by NCTE notification dated 25th August, 2010. It is only thereafter that unqualified candidates were to be appointed subject to available vacancies.

10. At the time when the writ petition was admitted, an order was passed by a Co-ordinate Bench on 25th January, 2014 restraining the School Service Commission from recommending any further names fo