West Bengal School Teachers Recruitment Rules, 2016 – r.6(2) as amended on 22.12.2020 – Interpretation – Late conduct of the 2020-22 Batch of Diploma in Elementary Education examination (D.El.Ed.), the minimum qualification for post of Primary Teacher, delaying the normal conclusion of the 2022 batch by 30.06.2022 – Appellants apprehending that they could cross the age bar if they did not participate in the upcoming recruitment process, filed writ petitions – Single Judge of the High Court permitted the appellants to participate in the recruitment process – However, the appellants were held ineligible by the Division Bench to participate in the selection process on the ground that they did not possess the eligibility qualifications on the date of the advertisement, i.e., 29.09.2022 – Challenge to:
Held: r.6(2) does not prescribe a date by which minimum qualifications must be possessed – High Court erred in interpreting and construing r.6(2) as a provision prescribing a cut-off date by which time the minimum educational qualifications must be possessed – The direction of the Single Judge enabled candidates such as the appellant who were at the verge of completing the course to participate in the selection process and they would have been appointed only upon attaining the prescribed qualifications – Recruitment advertisement dtd. 21.10.2022, issued in continuation of the previous notification dtd.29.09.2022 itself invited applications from TET qualified candidates including the candidates appearing for the session 2020 in D.El.Ed. Courses in compliance with the order of the High Court – The qualifications must be possessed in terms of the date appointed by the relevant service rules and if there is no cut-off date appointed by the rules then such date as may be appointed for the purpose of advertisement calling for applications – Further, if there is no such date appointed then eligibility criteria shall be with reference to the last date appointed by which the applications have to be received – Appellants who applied as per the recruitment notification dtd.21.10.2022 obtained their course completion certificates by 29.11.2022 and their final results were declared on 30.12.2022 – Interviews commenced in December 2022 and when the process was to be taken to its logical end, the division bench passed the impugned order by interpreting r.6(2) as if it prescribes a cut-off date for eligibility – The recruitment notification dtd.21.10.2022 indicated that the appellants will be given an opportunity and that intendment must inure to their benefit – Recruitment notification dtd.21.10.2022 is legal and valid – The recruitment process commenced under the relevant rules and also as per the directions of the Single Judge of the High Court – Judgment of the division bench set aside – Recruitment process which commenced in the notification dated 21.10.2022 to proceed further – National Council for Teachers Education Act, 2009 – Constitution of India – Article 142. [Paras 21, 28-33] Service Law – Recruitment/Selection – Cut-off date for qualification – Law as regards the date by which candidates for selection must possess the minimum qualifications prescribed for recruitment – Discussed.
Service Law – Recruitment notification – Importance of – Discussed.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Divya Pandey. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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