IMPORTANT POINTS
High Court under Article 226 does not sit in appeal over an administrative decision. It might only examine the decision making process.
In a judgment, if something has to be established by a process of reasoning, on points where there may reasonably be two opinions, it will not be an error on the face of the record.

JUDGMENT :

INDIRA BANERJEE, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. Heard Mr. Rana Mukherjee, learned senior counsel for the Appellants and Mr. Debal Banerji, learned senior counsel for the Respondent No.1.

3. This appeal is against a final Judgment and order dated 27.6.2016 of a Division Bench of Calcutta High Court dismissing an appeal being FMA No.3324/2015 filed by the Appellants against an order dated 19.4.2010 passed by the Single Judge allowing Writ Petition No.21512(W) of 2009 filed by Respondent No.1 inter alia cancelling the candidature, empanelment and selection of the Respondent No.1 for the post of Assistant Teacher in Arabic (Pass) in Jiaruddintola High School, a Bengali medium school in District Malda in West Bengal, hereinafter referred to as “School”.

4. The West Bengal Central School Service Commission issued an advertisement No.01/AT/08 dated 26.8.2008 interalia in the issue of the Bengali daily “Aajkaal” published on 27.8.2008, inviting applications for the posts of Assistant Teacher as specified in the said advertisement.

5. It appears that there were vacancies interalia in the posts of two categories of teachers, that is, the pass category for which the essential minimum educational qualification was Bachelor’s Degree in the Pass course from any UGC recognized university having the concerned subject as a combination subject of at least 300 marks at the degree level or 200 marks in the old 2-year Degree course, and the Honours/Post Graduate category for which the essential minimum qualification was Bachelor’s Degree with Hons. or alternatively Master’s Degree in the concerned subject from any UGC recognized university. For both the above categories qualification in Teachers’ Training such as B.T, B.Ed, P.G.B.T etc. was desirable.

6. In exercise of power conferred by Clause (d) of Sub-section (2) read with Sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the West Bengal School Service Commission Act, 1997 and in supersession of the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection of Persons for Appointment to the Post of Teachers) Rules, 2006, the Government of West Bengal framed the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection of Persons for Appointment to the Post of Teachers) Rules, 2007 (hereinafter referred to as the “Rules”). Rule 5 of the Rules provides as follows:-

“5. Additional essential qualification of candidate.-A candidate willing to be selected as a Teacher in any School or Madrasah, having Bengali or English or Hindi or Nepali or Oriya or Santhali or Telegu or Urdu as the medium of instruction, must have Bengali or English or Hindi or Nepali or Oriya or Santhali or Telegu or Urdu, as the case may be, as first or second or third language at any of the Secondary or Higher Secondary or Graduation level -

(a) at Secondary level or the Board or Board of Madrasah or equivalent; or

(b) at Higher Secondary level of the Council or equivalent; or

(c) at any subsequent higher level of education in that language paper.”

The said advertisement No. 01/AT/08 interalia set forth the eligibility criteria for the teaching posts advertised.

Paragraph/Note 2 of the said advertisement read:-

“Medium of instruction…… Vacancies are mainly in Bengali medium schools (excluding Madrasahs). Candidates applying for School (excluding Madrasah) with particular language as medium must have that language of the medium as first or second or third language at Secondary level of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education/West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education or from any equivalent Board or at Higher Secondary Level of the West Bengal Council of High Secondary Education or from any equivalent Board/Council or must have succeeded at any subsequent higher level of education in that language paper.”

7. Pursuant to the aforesaid advertisement the Respondent No. 1 applied for the post of Assistant Teacher of Arabic in a Bengali medium school in the format prescribed