- (1.) The twelve petitioners, who have jointly moved this writ petition are judicial officers belonging to the cadre of civil judge (senior division) and barring one of them, that is petitioner No. 10, they have been functioning as additional district judges on the basis of ad hoc promotion given to them in different phases as fast track court judges in different districts of West Bengal.
(2.) In this writ petition, different prayers have been made for directions on the High Court administration and the State Government for promotion of the petitioners in the rank of district judges, but in course of hearing, submissions were made on behalf of the petitioners on two grounds. Prayer was made, in substance, for invalidating an examination for promotion of civil judges (senior division) to the rank of district judges. The second prayer made was declaratory in nature. A direction was sought from this Court to the effect that the officers who were given ad hoc promotion as additional district and session judges of the fast track courts should not be required to face suitability test again for promotion, and they should be regularised in the rank of district judges.
(3.) The examination over which complain is made is termed as "limited competitive examination", which is held for promotion of civil judges (senior division) having not less than five years of qualifying service; to the rank of district judges. The examination commenced on 29 June, 2009 and appears to have been concluded on 7 July, 2009. In the writ petition there is also prayer for an interim order seeking postponement of this examination, but when the writ petition was first argued before me on 29 June, 2009, the examination was scheduled to commence on that very date. Mr. Roy, learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner fairly submitted that he was not pressing the prayer for interim order at that stage since the examination had already commenced, but would pray for quashing or invalidating the same. The main ground on which he has sought invalidation, of the examination is that the same has been conducted in breach of directive of the Hon'ble Supreme Court specifying a schedule of dates to be maintained for holding of the examination. The case of the petitioners is that departure from such schedule mandated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court has caused prejudice to them, as well as other similarly situated officers. This directive was given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court on 4 January, 2007, in the case of (Civil Appeal No. 1867 of 2006) Malik Mazhar Sultan & Anr. v. U.P. Public Service Commission & Ors.).;