IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that candidates participating in a recruitment process are bound by the communication methods specified in the advertisement, and failure to check publicly available information does not warrant relief.

JUDGMENT :

Anubha Rawat Choudhary, J.

Learned counsels for the parties are present.

2. W.P.(S) No.4936 of 2023 has been filed for the following reliefs :

“1. That in the instant writ application the petitioners pray for issuance of appropriate writ(s)/ order(s)/ direction(s) as may appear just and proper for doing conscionable justice to the petitioners for the following reliefs:

(a) For direction upon the respondents to provide adequate opportunity to the petitioners to present their documents for verification before respondent Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (hereinafter referred as "JSSC") and forthwith subject to fulfilment of requisite eligibility by the petitioners consider & recommend the candidature of the petitioners for being appointed as Trained Graduate Teacher on account of being successful in the Combined Graduate Trained Teachers Competitive Examination 2016 i.e. CGTTCE-2016 conducted by the Respondent-JSSC, as the petitioners possess requisite qualifications (Annexure-2 Series) pursuant to the Advertisement No. 21/2016 (Annexure-1).

(b) To hold that mere publishing list of roll numbers of shortlisted candidates on website (Annexure-4 Series) cannot be considered as proper communication or providing sufficient notice and opportunity to the Petitioners, particularly when all other communications between the petitioners and respondent-JSSC were held via emails, and after seeking response from the respondent-JSSC be pleased to pass appropriate orders and directions commanding upon them to appoint the Petitioners considering the fact that they are better in merit and are also fulfilling the other conditions and qualifications for the post.

(c) For direction upon the respondents to issue merit list in light of the Hon'ble Supreme Court order dated 02.08.2022 passed in Satyajit Kumar & Ors. reported in 2022 SCC Online SC 954 to publish merit list in each subject against the respective categories with respect to entire state more particularly considering the fact that there are already vacant posts of teachers in the State and the same shall be adjusted accordingly on the basis of individual merit of the candidates.

AND/OR

(d) For issuance of an appropriate writ(s)/order(s)/direction(s), particularly a Writ in the nature of mandamus commanding upon the Respondents to immediately and forthwith consider.”

3. W.P.(S) No.5768 of 2023 has been filed for the following relief :

“(1) For issuance of an appropriate writ(s)/ order(s)/ direction(s) commanding upon the respondents to allow the petitioner to appear and submit the required certificates in terms of the letter dated 02.04.2019, issued by the Office of Controller of Examination, Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, whereby and whereunder, the last date for submitting the aforesaid documents has been mentioned as 09.04.2019, as the same was never communicated to the petitioner by any letter or post or by an e-mail or by making a phone call;

And/Or,

(ii) For further issuance of an writ(s)/ order(s)/ direction(s) appropriate as Your Lordships may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice.”

4. These two writ petitions arise out of the same recruitment process i.e. Advertisement No.21 of 2016 and, therefore, they have been tagged together. The terms and conditions of the advertisement have been annexed in W.P.(S) No.4936 of 2023 and a counter affidavit has also been filed in the said case but neither the terms and conditions of the advertisement are available in the records of W.P.(S) No.5768 of 2023 nor any counter affidavit has been filed but the issues are similar in nature in both the writ petitions.

5. In W.P.(S) No.4936 of 2023, the petitioners are seeking relief after the orders passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in connection with the same recruitment process as mentioned in the prayer itself by stating that no indepen