JUDGMENT :

T.S. SIVAGNANAM, J.

1. This intra court appeal has been filed by the West Bengal Pharmacy Council challenging the correctness of the order passed in WPA No. 509 of 2023 dated 28.02.2023 filed by the respondents 1 to 4 herein. The respondent writ petitioners had filed the writ petition praying for issuance of writ of mandamus to direct the appellants/authorities to forthwith grant a hearing of the objections raised by them vide email dated 01.01.2023; to issue a writ of prohibition to restrain the appellant from sending election papers to the electors on January 09, and January 10, 2023 and for issuance of a writ of certiorari to quash the notice dated December 20, 2022 by which the appellant council published the list of accepted/rejected candidates for the election to the West Bengal Pharmacy Council.

2. The Learned Single Bench by the impugned order held that the rejection of the nomination of the respondent writ petitioners was flawed and directed the appellant council to reconsider the nominations filed by the writ petitioners in accordance with Rule 5(1) of the Rules for Election of Members including the President and the Vice President of the West Bengal Pharmacy Council and of the Members of the Executive Committee of the said council. The learned writ court further directed that the appellant council will give effect to the final list/notice published on 20.12.2022 only after the direction is complied with. Further it was observed that since the last election of the council was held in 2007 with the tenure of office expired in 2013, no prejudice is caused if the question of the writ petitioner’s candidatures is decided within the time directed. The appellant council being aggrieved by such order have preferred this appeal.

3. Heard Mr. Kishore Dutta, learned senior advocate assisted by Mr. Avik Ghatak, Mr. Soham Banerjee, Mr. Parashar Baidya and Mr. Soham De Dhara, learned advocates for the appellants. Mr. Tapan Kumar Mukherjee assisted by Ms. Debdooti Dutta, learned advocates for the state. Mr. Aniruddha Chatterjee assisted by Mr. Rahul Karmakar and Ms. Gargi Goswami learned advocates for the respondent. Mr. Ananta Shaw assisted by Mr. Falguni Bandyopadhyay, Ms. Sreetama Neogi and Ms. Riya Ballav learned advocates for the appellants in CAN No. 02 of 2023.

4. The facts leading to the filing of the writ petition are as hereunder. The writ petitioners are registered pharmacists under the appellant council having valid registration as on the date when they filed the writ petition. It was stated that 15 members constitute the body of the council and out of the said 15 members, 6 members are elected among the registered pharmacists of the State of West Bengal, 5 members to be nominated by the State of West Bengal of whom 3 must possess prescribed degree or diploma in pharmacy and one member has to be elected from the West Bengal Medical Council and the other three members are ex-officio Chief Administrative Medical Officer, Ex-officio Officer-in-charge, Drugs Control and Ex Officio Government analyst under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the entire panel of members as specified under Section 19 of the PHARMACY ACT , 1948. The writ petitioners sought to bring out the lacunae in the election process to be held for the members under Section 19 (1)(a) of the PHARMACY ACT . It was stated that in terms of the Rules of Election which were published in the Calcutta Gazette on 21.07.1966, the Registrar, the second appellant, is empowered to Act as a returning officer for conducting and holding the elections. Rule 2 of the said rules provides for preparation of draft electoral roll followed by the final electoral roll after effecting correction in the said draft, if any. Rule 3 relates to the nomination of candidates whose names appear in the said final roll. Rule 5 provides for a Dispute Redressal Mechanism in case of a