27.01.2026 Item No.01 Court No.11 KCP FMA 256 of 2025 with IA No. CAN 1 of 2024 West Bengal Board of Primary Education & Ors.

- Versus -

Arun Kumar Das & Ors.

Mr. Subir Sanyal, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Ratul Biswas Mr. Kaushik Chowdhury …for the appellants Mr. Firdous Samim Ms. Gopa Biswas Mr. Rajosik Dutta Mr. Imzamamul Islam Mr. Naman Shah …for the writ petitioner/

respondent The present appeal has been preferred by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (hereinafter referred to as the Board) and its functionaries challenging an order dated 3rd January, 2024 passed by the learned single Judge in the writ petition being WPA 19134 of 2023. The said writ petition was preferred by the writ petitioner, namely, Arun Kumar Das (in short, Arun), primarily praying for the following relief:

‘A Writ of and/or in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondent authorities, each one of them, their servants, agents and/or persons working under them and/or under their directions to treat and place the petitioner under OBC-B category with respect to TET-2022 and declare him as TET, 2022 qualified.’

Upon contested hearing the said writ petition was disposed of directing the Board to treat Arun as a candidate of OBC-B and to give him all advantages of a reserved category candidate.

Shorn of unnecessary details, the facts are that Arun applied for OBC-B certificate on 5th August, 2022. On 29^th September, 2022 thereafter a notification was issued by the Board inviting applications from eligible candidates for the Teacher Eligibility Test (in short, TET) for the year 2022. In terms of the said notification, Arun applied as a general category candidate. Thereafter, the TET examination was held on 11^th December, 2022 and the result was declared on 10^th February, 2023. In the midst thereof, Arun was issued the OBC-B category certificate on 9^th February, 2022.

Mr. Sanyal, learned senior advocate appearing for the appellants submits that the Board is an examining authority and it has to proceed in strict consonance with the notification issued for conducting such examination. Arun duly participated in TET, 2022 as a general category candidate but failed to come within the zone of consideration and as such result was not palatable, he preferred the writ petition claiming consideration as OBC-B category candidate on the basis of the certificate obtained on

9th February, 2023.

He argues that having participated as a general category candidate in TET, he cannot seek the advantages of a reserved category candidate on the ground that he was successful in getting the required certificate only at a later stage. The issue urged in the writ petition is no longer res integra as it has already been decided by two Co-ordinate Benches of this Court in the cases of The Secretary, West Bengal Board of Primary Education & Anr. –vs– Soma Saha Biswas & Ors. and Hafizur Rahaman –vs– The State of West Bengal & Ors., placing reliance upon the judgment delivered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of J & K Public Service Commission –vs- Israr Ahmad and Others, reported in (2005) 12 SCC 498.

Per contra, Mr. Samim, learned advocate appearing for Arun submits that the State authorities were under an obligation to dispose of an application submitted seeking a caste certificate within four weeks from the date of such submission, as would be explicit from the notification dated 16^th November, 2013. For the delay on the part of the State authorities to issue the caste certificate, Arun cannot be made to suffer.

He argues that it is not a case that Arun sat tight over the matter and chose not to apply for OBC-B certificate earlier since it would be explicit from the list of Backward Classes in West Bengal, as annexed at page 31 of the stay application, that the caste Bairagi/Baishnab was incorporated as a reserved caste vide notification being 2022-BCW/MR-03/2021 dated 11^th July, 2022.

He contends that the TET examination is required to be conducted by a suitable professional body designated by