- (1.) These petitions have been heard together as they challenge the same judgement and order of the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal passed on 22nd July 2009. By the impugned order the Tribunal has allowed Original Application No. 1001 of 2008 while dismissing Original Application No. 4523 of 2008. W.P.S.T. 611 of 2010 has been preferred against the order passed in Original Application No. 4523 of 2008 and W.P.S.T. No. 612 of 2010 has been filed challenging the order in Original Application No. 1001 of 2008. These petitions have been filed by two persons who claim that they were prevented from appearing for the examination held in December 2007 for recruitment to the post of Lower Division Clerk in the Regional Offices under the Directorate of Agriculture. The Petitioners in both these petitions will hereafter be referred to as the Petitioners. W.P.S.T. No. 698 of 2009 has been preferred by the State of West Bengal and its officers, challenging the same order of the Tribunal.
(2.) It would be necessary to state the facts in order to appreciate the questions of law raised before us. An advertisement was published in the Bengali daily "Aajkal" and the English newspaper "The Statesman" on 12th October 2007, for recruitment to 331 vacant posts of Lower Division Clerks in the Regional Offices under the Directorate of Agriculture. A written examination was scheduled on 2nd , December 2007. The allocation of seats in the various centres was published in the aforesaid two daily newspapers through a notice which also mentioned that candidates who had not received the admit card in order to appear for the examination, were required to contact the Principal Agriculture Officer in the respective districts on 3rd , 4th & 5th December 2007 at a specified time. A corrigendum was issued on 6th December 2007 in the same newspapers directing candidates who had not received the admit cards to contact the Principal Agriculture Officer on 6th & 7th December 2007 at a stipulated time. A second corrigendum was issued on 8th December 2007 requesting candidates who had not received their admit cards to collect a duplicate admit card either from the office of the Principal Agriculture Officer in the respective districts or from the State Control Room at the State Government Circuit House in Calcutta.
(3.) The examination was held as scheduled on 9th December 2007 and the merit list was published on the official website of the Government of West Bengal as also in the District Agricultural Offices on 29th December 2007.;