Bankim Chandra Hay, J. - (1.) The petitioner, Dr. Baidyanath Mukherjee, who appeared before the West Bengal College Service Commission in connection with an interview for impanelment, for selection of candidates for being appointed in the vacancies in the non-Government including Government-Sponsored-Co lieges has assailed the purported letter of appointment issued in favour of respondent No. 10, Dr. Jayanta Banerjee as the Principal of the Bejoy Narayan Mahavidyalaya, Itachuna, Hooghly, and the purported recommendation made by the West Bengal College Service Commission in favour of respondent No. 10 for appointment as Principal of the said College on the ground that the purported order of appointment of respondent No. 10 is illegal, arbitrary and contrary to the norms and/or requirements specified in the advertisement published in the Statesman on January 13, 1981.
(2.) The petitioner who is an M. A. in Bengali under the University of Calcutta and who obtained the Ph. D. degree from the Calcutta University in 1977 served as a teacher in different colleges for more than 16 years including service as a lecturer in the Hooghly Mohasin College, Chinsurah, for 7 years and the Presidency College, Calcutta for 9 years as an Assistant Professor and ultimately joined as the Principal of Banwarilal Bhalotia College, Asansol and he is working there in such capacity for the last three years. He is also serving as a part time lecturer in Post Graduate classes at the University of Burdwan. It has been stated that the petitioner is the author of books on Cultural History of Calcutta and on literary criticism and he is also regularly participating in radio talks and writing articles in the leading journals of Bengal. He is also a member of the Governing Body as D. P. I. nominee at Tribeni Devi Bhalotia College at Raniganj and previously at Bagati College at Bagati, in the District Hooghly. He is also an expert for evaluation of University level books published under the Ministry of Education and Social Education of Government of India. On January 13, 1981, an advertisement was published in the Statesman, being the No. I. C. A. 133(7)/81, inviting applications for selection of Principals for the vacancies in Government Sponsored Colleges and for impanelment in connection therewith. It was further provided amongst others in the said advertisement that the applications that will be made by the respective candidates will specify 'the area of preference of service'. This has been mentioned in Item No. 11 of the said advertisement. The petitioner in response to the above advertisement made an application along with a forwarding letter from the President of the Governing Body of the said College where he has been serving now and mentioned as his area of preference of service to the Bejoy Narayan Mahavidyalaya, Itachuna, Hooghly or in any other place nearer to his permanent residence. The said application was duly sent to the West Bengal College Service Commission. The petitioner was called for an interview by the Commission on April 7, 1981 and he was also asked to bring all relevant certificates/documents in original and research publications. After the interview the petitioner subsequently came to learn that the panel of selected candidates for appointments as Principals in different non-Government Colleges has already been prepared and according to available information he was placed at the top of the list. But unfortunately, as he was not being appointed to the post although persons placed below him, were given appointments in different Colleges, the petitioner was compelled to write a letter to the Hon'ble Chief Minister, West Bengal and the Secretary, Department of Education, requesting them to exercise their good office so that justice may not be denied to him and his name duly be recommended for appointment as Principal of the Bejoy Narayan Mahavidyalaya, Itachuna, Hooghly, according to his preference for the same. It has been further stated that it was quite natural to expect that the West Bengal College Service Commission would recommend his name to the authority of the Bejoy Narayan Mahavidyalaya, Itachuna, Hooghly for appointment as Principal of that College as his preference for the same was already communicated in the said Commission. It has also been stated that he came to know that his name would not be sent to any ether College as he has been already serving as Principal of Banwarilal Bhalotia College, Asansol. It has been submitted that such preference for the College was obtained from the candidates in order to enable the authorities concerned to give effect to such posting if the merits of the candidates otherwise permitted the same. It was further pleaded that the West Bengal College Service Commission acted arbitrarily and contrary to the principles of natural justice by denying him appointment though candidates, such as respondent No. 10 who was placed much below him in the panel in order of merit, was recommended for appointment as Principal of non-Government Colleges including Sponsored Colleges. It has also been stated in the said application that although he has been serving as the Principal of Banwarilal Bhalotia College yet the climate of the place has been telling upon his health as result of which he is on the look out for a change. The petitioner also states that it is not open to the respondents to act contrary to the terms of the advertisement and to deprive the petitioner of the benefit of selection and posting on grounds extraneous to the terms of the advertisement. A copy of this application is annexed as Annexure 'C' to the petition. It h is been further stated in paragraph 10 of the petition that the petitioner has come to know that the Secretary, West Bengal College Service Commission, being respondent No. 8, is now taking steps to recommend the name of respondent No. 10 for the post of Principal of the Bejoy Narayan Mahavidyalaya, Itachuna, Hooghly in supersession of the claim of the petitioner. The respondent Nos. 3 to 8 are making arbitrary discrimination in the matter of selection and recommendation of the name of the petitioner although the petitioner has been sculpted and placed at the top of the list. It has also been stated that the said appointment is sought to be made in favour of the respondent No. 10 in preference to the claim of the petitioner and the said appointment is being made arbitrarily and the said respondent Nos. 3 to 8 have been influenced by some extraneous considerations neither warranted by law nor relevant for the purpose. It has also been stated that there cannot be any reason or justification for not giving effect to the preference of the petitioner when according to the selection made by the Commission itself the petitioner was placed at the top of the selection list or panel. The petitioner also states that in the matter of placement of candidates there is no other criterion or standard adopted or disclosed by the Commission and there is no justification for departing from the standard disclosed and acted upon by the candidates at the instance of the Commission. It has also been stated that on July 30, 1981, another advertisement No. 4/81 inviting applications for preparing a separate panel for the posts of Principals in non-Government including Government Sponsored Colleges and Training Colleges in West Bengal was published in the "Statesman". In the said advertisement two numbers of probable vacancies are shown against the District of Hooghly. This has been annexed as Annexure 'D' to the petition. This advertisement, it has been stated, has been made in disregard of the claim of the petitioner and also to deprive him of the benefit of the selection and to disregard his claim for being appointed to the post of Principal by the said Commission. It has been submitted that the West Bengal College Service Commission comprising of respondent Nos. 3 to 8 has been dealing with the public in the matter of giving jobs and it cannot act arbitrarily and at its sweet will and every activity of such authority being a wing of the Government has a public element in it and it must therefore be informed with reason and guided by public interest. The West Bengal College Service Commission, being a wing of the Government cannot act arbitrarily and in disregard of the proposed norms and standards. It has been further submitted that the failure and/or refusal on the part of the said Commission to recommend his name for the said College is arbitrary, without any reason and/or justification and as such violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. It has been further submitted that such failure and/or refusal is opposed to public interest and there cannot be any justification for depriving the best candidate the privilege of serving the College of his choice. It has also been stated that the demand for justice as mentioned in Annexure 'C' to the petition was duly made and the same was denied as no reply was given to the same.
(3.) On those aforesaid grounds the instant writ application was moved before this Court on 11th August, 1981. A Rule was issued and an interim order was made restraining the respondents from making any appointment to the post of Principal of the Bejoy Narayan Mahavidyalaya, Itachuna, Hooghly for three weeks from that day with liberty to pray for extension of the interim order on that application with notice to the respondents.;