JUDGMENT :

Rabindranath Samanta, J.

1. F.M.A no. 1091 of 2012 arises out of the order dated 15.03.2012 passed by a Learned Single Bench in W.P 16050 (W) of 2011 and F.M.A no. 1093 of 2012 arises out of the order dated 10.05.2011 passed by an another Learned Single Bench in W.P 21560 (W) of 2010 with W.P 23532 (W) of 2010. Since the two appeals are inter related to each other and a common judgment will govern both the two appeals, we heard the appeals analogously.

2. The appeals on hand have a checkered background which may be delineated as under:-The Additional District Inspector of Schools, Secondary Education by a letter dated 01.07.2008 granted permission to the Secretary of Srikrishnapur High School at Kharagpur, District – Paschim Medinipur to fill up the vacancy in the post of Group-D(permanent) in the school as per the latest recruitment rules. The managing committee of the school in its meeting held on 29.08.2008 took a decision to request the concerned employment exchange officer to sponsor the names of candidates for recruitment in the post and accordingly the school authority requested the concerned employment exchange officer to sponsor the names of the candidates for recruitment in the aforesaid post of Group-D. In reply thereto, the employment exchange officer vide Memo No. KGP/PVT-54/08 dated 08.09.2008 sponsored the names of twenty one candidates for the recruitment as above. On the other hand, the school authority also published a notice in a Bengali Daily newspaper ‘Sambad Pratidin’ on 15.09.2008, inter alia, inviting applications from the intending candidates for participation in the interview for the post.

3. The appellant made an application before the school authority on the basis of the advertisement published in the said newspaper. In his application the appellant stated that he belonged to Schedule Caste and he possessed all the requisite qualifications for the post. In response to the advertisement in the newspaper fourty four candidates including the appellant applied for the post. Ultimately, sixty five candidates appeared in the interview conducted by the school authority on 09.11.2008.

4. Finally, the school authority prepared a panel where the respondent no. 6 Moutushi Roy was placed as the first candidate and the appellant was placed as a second candidate in the panel.

5. The appellant contends that as per the existing recruitment rules, the respondent no. 6 did not attain the age of 18 years on 01.01.2008 and as such she was not eligible for the post. But, he fulfilled all the eligibility criteria to be appointed in the post. He made representation to the school authority with a plea that he be appointed in the post instead of the respondent no. 6. But, the authority turned deaf ear on the plea made by him.

6. Being dissatisfied with the inaction on the part of the school authority the appellant initially filed a writ petition being W.P 30072(W) of 2008 in this Court challenging the decision of the school authority selecting the respondent no. 6 for the aforesaid post. During the pendency of the writ petition, the Additional District Inspector of Schools, on 30.07.2010, approved the panel prepared by the school authority. Under such circumstances, the appellant withdrew the writ petition and filed an another writ petition being W.P 21560 (W) of 2010 challenging the decision of the authorities concerned in approving the selection of the respondent no. 6 for appointment in Group-D post in Srikrishnapur High School. After filing of this writ petition the respondent no. 6 Shrimati Moutushi Roy filed a writ petition being W.P 23532 (W) of 2010 seeking, inter alia, direction upon the school authorities to appoint her in the aforesaid post.

7. Both the aforesaid two writ petitions were heard together by a Learned Single Bench and by the order dated 10.05.2011 the Learned Single Bench disposed of the two writ petitions directing the respondent no. 2 i.e. the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary Education),