The main legal point established in the judgment is that recommendations and appointments made by the School Service Commission must adhere to the zone of consideration, and any illegal appointments can be challenged and revoked by the court.

ORDER :

1. This is an application filed by the petitioner who, according to the West Bengal Central School Service Commission, obtained total marks 66.67. He has pointed out that though he was not called for counseling as an wait-listed candidate and was not issued any recommendation and appointment letters, at least six candidates, who are below to the rank of him in the said wait list, got opportunity to appear for counseling and subsequently received recommendation letters, appointment letters and have joined different schools where they are presently working as Assistant Teachers.

2. This court directed the School Service Commission to file a report in the form of an affidavit as to the allegations of the petitioner. Such an affidavit, affirmed on 03.11.2021, has been filed.

3. From the said affidavit, it is found that the allegation of the writ petitioner is wholly correct. The private respondents, being respondent nos. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, were recommended for the post of teachers and all of them got marks below the petitioner and the marks have been disclosed by none other than the West Bengal Central School Service Commission in their said affidavit.

4. The School Service Commission has submitted in the last four lines of paragraph 5 in the said affidavit that the writ petitioner was not coming in the zone of consideration as he obtained lesser marks than the last candidate recommended by the Commission for the same category.

5. This court fails to understand if the petitioner was not coming in the zone of consideration as he obtained lesser marks than the last candidate recommended how the candidates obtaining marks lesser than the petitioner, as has been disclosed by the Commission itself in their said affidavit, could be recommended in different schools. This shows that those candidates also did not come within the zone of consideration but they were given recommendations and appointments. It is an admitted position when we read paragraphs 5 and 6 of the said affidavit of the Commission conjointly. It is clear that the private respondents did not come in the zone of consideration. Despite that the private respondents were recommended, appointed and joined in different schools where they were recommended by the Commission.

6. The Commission has taken shelter under the expression 'mistake' by admitting that 'private respondents were by 'mistake' recommended by the Commission even though he (sic.) had lower marks'. Therefore, these six private respondents do not have any legal right to work as assistant teachers in the schools as appears from Annexure P-6 to the writ application (at page 71) which is a letter written by the District Inspector of Schools(S.E.), Murshidabad dated 18.02.2021 to the President of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. The following are the schools where the private respondents have been appointed:-

7. Therefore, the above named persons shall not be allowed to work in the above named schools as assistant teachers any further and they shall not get any salary from the State exchequer. The salaries they have received till date shall be refunded to the Government immediately. If they fail to refund the received salary against such illegal appointments, the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Murshidabad shall have every liberty to initiate steps against them both under civil and criminal laws to realise the salary received by them.

8. The matter is not disposed of.

9. The District Inspector of Schools (SE) Mu