JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. A.M. Barbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioners, Mr. B. Goswami, learned Additional Advocate General, Assam for the respondents No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 being the authorities in the Water Resources Department, Government of Assam, Mr. S. Biswas, learned counsel for the respondent No. 5 Ms. Priyanka Acharjee and Mr. R. Dhar, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate for the respondent No. 6 being the authorities in the WPT&BC Department.

2. The writ petitioners Th. Dipen Kumar Singha, Lal Mohan Singha and Rajeev Singh as well as the respondent No. 5 Priyanka Acharjee participated in a selection process pursuant to an advertisement dated 06.07.2013 issued by the Executive Engineer, Silchar Water Resource Division inviting applications for 17 numbers of sanctioned vacant posts of Section Assistant(district level) in the establishment. The advertisement specifically provided that the last date of receipt of application was 22.07.2013 and that no applications would be entertained after the last date. The petitioners as well as the respondent No. 5 submitted their respective applications before the last date of submission. All the petitioners and the respondent No. 5 participated in the selection process as candidates belonging to the OBC category.

3. The selection process being a selection for the post, amongst others, reserved for OBC candidates and the petitioners and the respondent No. 5 having participated in the selection process as OBC candidates, there is also a requirement of law that the appropriate certificate certifying that the candidates do belong to the OBC category is also to be submitted along with the application form before the last date fixed for the purpose.

4. In the instant case, having participated in the selection process, the respondent No. 5 Priyanka Acharjee had been selected and appointed as per the order of appointment dated 31.10.2014. The writ petitioners who had also participated in the selection process, instituted the writ petitions on the ground that the OBC certificate relied upon by the respondent No. 5 was dated 28.08.2014 i.e. much after the last date of submission of the application.

5. Accordingly, by referring to the principle that all such certificates and documents that are relied upon by a candidate in a selection process to establish the eligibility of such candidate has to be submitted before the last date of submission of application, the petitioners assail the selection and appointment of the respondent No. 5 on the ground that the certificate which provides that she is an OBC candidate was submitted after the last date of submission of application and therefore, as on the last date of submission of the application form, the respondent No. 5 was ineligible to have been considered as an OBC candidate.

6. Mr. B. Goswami, learned Additional Advocate General, Assam for the respondents in the Water Resources Department by referring to the records of the selection process states that the respondent No. 5 along with her application form did submit a certificate certifying that she is an OBC candidate, which is dated 15.07.2013 i.e. prior to the last date of submission of application. But the said certificate although certified by the Sub Divisional Level OBC Development Board was not countersigned by the Sub Divisional Officer (Civil) [in short SDO(Civil)] as required under the law. According to the learned Additional Advocate General, as the respondent No. 5 did submit a certificate certifying that she is an OBC candidate issued by the Sub Divisional Level OBC Development Board, the authorities entertained the application of the respondent No. 5 and allowed her to participate in the selection process.

7. Mr. A.M. Barbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioners per-contra contends that the procedural law requires an OBC certificate to be certified by the Sub Divisional Level OBC Development Board, but to make it to be a complete certificate, there is also a requirement to be c