MOHIT KUMAR SEN Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners being dissatisfied with the judgment and order of the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal in OA No. 1618 of 1997 have filed the present petition. There were thirty-seven applicants before the Tribunal. However, only ten have filed the present petition. The other applicants have not been made pro forma Respondents by the Petitioners. Therefore, on this ground alone the petition deserves to be dismissed. Mr. Roy for the Petitioners seeks an adjournment to add the other applicants as pro forma Respondents. We are not inclined to grant any adjournment since this is a petition of the year 2008 and it has been pending a decision in this Court for more than four years. We have, therefore, proceeded on the merits of the case.

(2.) The Petitioners had all applied for employment as Veterinary Field Assistants/Field Assistants under the Animal Resources Development Department pursuant to the employment notice issued by the Department on 13th January, 1995. They appeared for the written examination and the interview. Indisputably they have all been empanelled. The Petitioners contend that in view of the call letter issued to them they ought to have been permitted to undergo pre service training. The Petitioners further contend that it is only if they are successful in the pre-service training, then they can be considered for appointment as Veterinary Field Assistants/Field Assistants and they would then be a part of the common cadre of Livestock Development Assistants.

(3.) There is no dispute that the Petitioners were selected and empanelled in 1997. When they learnt that others in the panel had been sent for training, as indicated in the call letter of 13th January, 1995, they preferred OA-1618 of 1997 before the Tribunal. On considering the pleadings before it and the submissions of Counsel the Tribunal has found that seventy seven candidates from the merit list were offered the pre service training. This included fifty-five candidates from the unreserved category and seventeen candidates from the Scheduled Castes and five candidates from the Scheduled Tribe. The Tribunal has found that the lowest marks obtained by the unreserved candidate were 56.5 while the marks obtained by the Scheduled Caste candidate were 44.5. The Tribunal accepted the contention of the Respondents that only such candidates, who were found to be meritorious, were called for pre-service training after considering the number of vacancies available for employment. The Tribunal has, therefore, dismissed the application, filed by the Petitioners.