- (1.) The Howrah District Primary School Council and its Chairman has filed the present writ petition challenging a Memo dated March 20, 2014 issued by the Commissioner of School Education, West Bengal. By the impugned Memo, the Council has been requested to take necessary steps to issue appointment letter in favour of the respondent no. 4 if he confirms to and satisfy all statutory conditions for appointment as an Assistant Teacher in primary school on compassionate ground under the died-in-harness category.
(2.) It is contended on behalf of the writ petitioners that, the Commissioner has acted beyond the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the judgment and order dated April 4, 2008 rendered in Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 1626 of 2005 (Bipad Taran Ray v. State of West Bengal & Ors). It is submitted that the respondent no. 4 does not fulfil the criteria laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Bipad Taran Ray and, therefore, the decision rendered by the Commissioner is bad in law. It is also contended that the Commissioner had relied upon a Special Bench decision dated September 25, 2012 rendered in C.O. No. 2257(W) of 1994 (Himadri Sekhar Biswas v. Director of School Education and Ors.). The Special Bench decision is not good law in view of Bipad Taran Ray . In any event the direction of the Special Bench contained in Himadri Sekhar Biswas is not applicable to the facts of the present case. An applicant for compassionate appointment made after the 1991 Rules cannot avail of the ratio of Himadri Sekhar Biswas . In the present case the father of the respondent no. 4 had died on July 1, 1993 Rule 35 of the 1991 Rules had come into effect from November 22, 1991.
(3.) Therefore, Himadri Sekhar Biswas is not applicable to the respondent no. 4.;