Dismissed¶14

Manorama Dakua and Ors. v. State of West Bengal and Ors.

Calcutta HC2 Jul 2025MAT/919/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Delay and laches — expiry of selection panel — writ petition filed 09.01.2024 after panel expired 11.12.2019 — 1st State Level Selection Test, 2016 for Assistant Teachers (Physical Education/Work Education, Upper Primary) — allegation of superseding merit position in personality test — candidate loses right to question selection process after panel expiry (reliance on (1996) 9 SCC 309 and (2009) 2 SCC 706) — appeal and connected application dismissed — Manorama Dakua & Ors. v. State of West Bengal & Ors.; WBCSSC; W.B.B.S.E.

What did the court decide?

The writ petitioners failed to offer any plausible explanation for not pursuing their remedy and for seeking enforcement of their alleged grievance soon after the 1st State Level Selection Test, 2016 was over or before expiry of the panel dated 11th December, 2019. ¶10

Manorama Dakua and Ors. Vs State of West Bengal and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

¶14

Issue for consideration

Whether the writ petitioners could successfully question the selection process (alleging that on superseding merit position other candidates were permitted to participate in the personality test) where the panel expired on 11th December, 2019, the writ petition was instituted only on 9th January, 2024, and no plausible explanation for the delay was offered.

¶6

Court's answer

¶10

Ratio / Principle

On such consideration, the Court was not inclined to allow the appeal; the appeal and the connected application (CAN 1 of 2025) were dismissed.

¶14

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Division Bench (Soumen Sen and Smita Das De, JJ.) dismissed MAT 919 of 2025 and connected CAN 1 of 2025, thereby upholding the learned Single Judge's refusal to entertain the writ petitioners' challenge to the 1st State Level Selection Test, 2016 for recruitment of Assistant Teachers in Physical Education/Work Education (Upper Primary), founded on the allegation that on superseding merit position other candidates were permitted to participate in the personality test. The panel expired on 11th December, 2019, while the writ petition was instituted on 9th January, 2024. Holding that the writ petitioners failed to offer any plausible explanation for not pursuing their remedy before expiry of the panel, and adopting the learned Single Judge's reproduced observations — which placed reliance on State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. v. Harish Chandra & Ors., (1996) 9 SCC 309, and Girdhar Kumar Dadhich & Anr. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors., (2009) 2 SCC 706, for the proposition that after expiry of the panel a candidate loses the right to question the selection process — the Court dismissed the appeal.

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Item02-07-2025 MAT 919 of 2025 7. CAN 1 of 2025

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¶3

Manorama Dakua & Ors. Vs. Ct. 8 The State of West Bengal & Ors.

¶4

Mr. Dibyendu Chatterjee Mr. Pritam Majumdar Mr. Rahul Deb Goenka Ms. Satabdi Das …for the appellants Dr. Sutanu Kr. Patra Ms. Supriya Debuy …for the WBCSSC Ms. Koyeli Bhattacharyya …for the W.B.B.S.E. Mrs. Debjani Ray …for the respondent no.8 Mr. Sudipto Panda Ms. Ananya Neogy …for the State

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We have heard the learned Counsel for the parties. There is no dispute that the petitioners participated in 1^st State Level Selection Test, 2016 for recruitment of Assistant Teachers in Physical Education/Work Education (Upper Primary).

¶6

The contention of the writ petitioners before the learned Single Judge as well as before this Court that, on superseding merit position some other candidates were permitted to participate in the personality test as a result whereof, the selection process was questioned.

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The learned Single Judge has taken into consideration the submission made on behalf of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission that the panel expired on 11^th December, 2019 and the present writ petition was

¶8

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instituted on 9^th January, 2024.

¶10

The writ petitioners have failed to offer any plausible explanation in not pursuing their remedy and for seeking any enforcement over alleged grievance soon after the 1^st State Level Selection Test, 2016 was over or before expiry of the panel dated 11^th December, 2019.

¶11

The learned Single Judge has taken into consideration the aforesaid facts as would be evident from the observations made by the learned Single Judge, which are reproduced hereinbelow:

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“It is settled law that after expiry of the panel candidate loses right to question the selection process. In this regard reliance is placed on the judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, one reported in ( 1996) 9 SCC 309 (State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. v. Harish Chandra & Ors.) and another reported in (2009) 2 SCC 706 (Girdhar Kumar Dadhich & Anr. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors.) .

¶13

In the present case after expiry of the panel on 11^th December, 2019 writ petition was filed precisely after four years on 9^th January, 2024 when the panel was given effect to.”

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On such consideration, we are not inclined to allow the appeal. The appeal and the connected application are, accordingly, dismissed.

¶15

(Soumen Sen, J.)

¶16

(Smita Das De, J.)

Manorama Dakua and Ors. v. State of West Bengal and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Manorama Dakua and Ors. v. State of West Bengal and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Cases cited

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

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