JUDGMENT :

Om Narayan Rai, J.

1.A piquant situation has arisen on the interpretation of the various provisions contained in the West Bengal Schools (Recruitment of Non-Teaching Staff) Rules, 2005 (in short 'said Rules') enacted by virtue of a notification dated 26^th December 2005.

2. A prelude to the litigation is required to be recapitulated before we embark the journey on the peripheral of the interpretation of the various provisions of the said Rules. Indubitably, the selection process was initiated in the year 2007-2008 for appointment of the non-teaching employees in the said school. Several litigations came to be filed at the behest of the appellant and diverse orders were passed from time to time. Ultimately, the last writ petition, which is dismissed by the impugned order, was taken out to quash and set aside the order of the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Nadia dated 20^th December 2011 whereby and whereunder the proposal for approval of the panel was rejected primarily on the ground that the Selection Committee constituted for initiation of the recruitment process to fill up the post of non-teaching staff is not in conformity with Rule 6(1)(b) of the said Rules. The said order was assailed in the said writ petition and the Single Bench dismissed the writ petition with a categorical finding that there is a fundamental flaw in constituting a Selection Committee under the said Rules, which is incurable and, therefore, such Selection Committee is non est in the eye of law.

3. We invited the Counsels to address on the nuances of those provisions in pursuit of deciding as to whether such provisions are inflexible to the extent that the decision of the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Nadia and the Single Bench does not warrant any interference.

4. It would be apposite to quote the relevant provisions before we proceed to interpret the applicability thereof in a given situation.

“6. Selection Committee.-(1)(a) ……….

(b) for the selection of a Clerk or a Group-D staff in a school, the selection committee shall consist of the following :-

(i) Headmaster, (ii) Secretary of the school authority:

Provided that if the Headmaster and the Secretary of the school authority are one and same person, the President of the school authority shall be the member of the selection committee:

Provided further that nothing in the last preceding provision shall be applicable in case there is an Administrator of the school.

(iii) Headmaster of a school in the same sub-division as the school for which the Clerk of the Group-D staff is to be selected is situated, and

(iv) a nominee of the Panchayat Samity or Municipal Corporation or Municipality or Notified Area Authority as the case may be:

Provided that no person who is a staff of a school shall be nominated as the nominee.

Explanation: For the purposes of this sub-rule, “recognised” means recognised or established by or under law.

**********************************************************************( (5)(a) No person who is related, by blood, marriage or adoption, to a candidate to be interviewed by a selection committee shall act as a member of the selection committee.

(b) the selection committee shall along with every panel, submit to the District Inspector of Schools a certificate indicating the actual position to that effect.”

5. On manifest reading of the aforesaid provisions, we do not find any incongruity in understanding the constitution of the Selection Committee, which comprised of Headmaster, Secretary of the School Authority, Headmaster of a school in the same sub-division of a school for which the selection process is initiated, and nominee of the Panchayat Samity or Municipal Corporation or Municipality or Notify Area Authority, as the case may be.

6. The first proviso to Rule 5(1)(b)(ii) postulates that in the event the Headmaster and the Secretary of the School are one and the same person, the President of the School Authority shall be the Member of the Selection Committee. The reason is ob