PRANAB KUMAR CHATTOPADHYAY, J. - (1.) THE appellant herein has preferred the instant appeal assailing the judgment and order dated 18th November, 2013 passed by the learned Single Judge and also filed an application for stay. Both the appeal and the connected application have now been listed for hearing.
(2.) GOING through the records, we find that the Public Service Commission, West Bengal issued an advertisement being Advertisement No. 02/2013 for holding the West Bengal Judicial Service Examination, 2013. The appellant/petitioner herein submitted an application in the prescribed format in response to the aforesaid advertisement. In the said application form, the appellant petitioner disclosed that he was in full time engagement in a law firm as an associate. In view of the aforesaid disclosure, respondent Public Service Commission refused to treat the appellant as an eligible candidate for participating in the West Bengal Judicial Service Examination, 2013 and therefore refused to issue the admit card to the said appellant/petitioner. The appellant/petitioner thereafter submitted a representation to the Chairperson, Public Service Commission referring to Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules for allowing the said appellant to appear in the West Bengal Judicial Service Examination, 2013 upon treating the said appellant as an eligible candidate.
(3.) IN the said representation, the appellant herein specifically submitted that the Public Service Commission have no reason to treat the said appellant as an ineligible candidate and refuse to participate in the West Bengal Judicial Service Examination, 2013. The said appellant/petitioner was engaged in Private Law Firms as an associate and had rendered professional services as an advocate. Therefore, according to the said appellant it could not be said that the said appellant had ceased to be an advocate on account of the aforesaid engagement. The Chairperson, Public Service Commission however, did not pass any order in favour of the appellant/petitioner upon considering the aforesaid representation.;