A selection process must be conducted in accordance with the prescribed Rules and must ensure transparency and fairness.

JUDGMENT

Moushumi Bhattacharya, J. - The writ petitions relate to the 1st State Level Selection Test, 2016 for recruitment of Assistant Teachers in Upper Primary schools in the State of West Bengal. The writ petitioners, 116 in number (in W.P.A. 9597 of 2019), participated in the SLST, 2016 and now seek cancellation of the entire selection process. The primary relief in the writ petitions have been sought against the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (the Commission) which has been designated to conduct the first State-Level Selection Test (SLST) for recruitment of Assistant Teachers in the Upper Primary level except Physical Education and Work Education.

2. The petitioners in all the writ petitions, which fall for consideration in this decision, applied in response to a Notification dated 23rd September, 2016 issued by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission relating to recruitment of Assistant Teachers for Upper Primary level (except Physical Education and Work Education) in non-Government aided/sponsored schools in West Bengal. In the Notification, the selection process was to be governed by the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection for Appointment to the Posts of Teachers for Upper Primary Level of Schools) Rules, 2016, framed under the West Bengal School Service Commission Act, 1997. It should be stated at the outset that under the 1997 Act, "School" has been defined as a recognised non-Government aided school and includes a sponsored school; "Recognized" has been defined as recognized or deemed to be recognized under the State Acts mentioned in Section 2(n) of the 1997 Act. "Sponsored School" has been defined to mean a school declared as a sponsored school by the State Government by notification. Section 3 of the 1997 Act provides that the State Government shall, with effect from such date as may be notified, appoint and constitute a Central Commission by the name of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission under the 1997 Act. The Commission is a statutory body under the 1997 Act and has been designated for conducting the entire selection process which is the subject-matter of the present dispute.

3. Mr. Subir Sanyal, learned Senior Counsel appearing for all the writ petitioners, seeks to challenge the selection process by stressing on the failure of the respondents in complying with the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection for Appointment to the Posts of Teachers for Upper Primary Level of Schools) Rules, 2016 (the Rules) at every stage. Counsel launches a 6-pronged challenge to the selection process which are:

a) Lesser qualified candidates with inferior academic qualifications and lower TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) weightage have been included in the Merit List.

b) The Interview List has been published without disclosing the specific marks obtained by the candidates.

c) The Commission failed to prepare the Merit List in terms of the Rules. The Commission also failed to prepare the Interview List in the ratio of 1:1.4 of the final vacancies as mandated under the Rules.

d) Untrained candidates were brought into the zone of consideration in violation of the Rules.

e) Arbitrary awarding of marks in the Personality Tests/Interviews which would be evident from identical marks awarded to several candidates.

f) The Commission commenced the Personality Test of candidates in the Interview List without first publishing the final vacancy list.

4. Learned Counsel has cited a number of cases on the consequences of violation of Rules and arbitrary practices in selection processes. In P. Mohanan Pillai vs State of Kerala, (2007) 9 SCC 497 , the issue was in relation to selection of 12 posts for watchmen in a government company where the Supreme Court considered the reason for lowering of the cut-off mark and enlarging the zone of consideration from 1:3 to 1:4. In that case call letters were issued to the next 11 candidates after the first 36 candidates who had scored the highest