Facts
The petitioners participated in a recruitment process initiated by Suri Municipality for the post of 'Mazdoor' (Category 'D') following a Government notification dated September 26, 2019
Source reference: para. 2The petitioners were successful in the selection process, and the Municipality resolved on July 28, 2021, to seek prior approval from the Director of Local Bodies as per Section 54(3) of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993
Source reference: para. 2After a previous court direction to communicate the outcome (WPA 26062 of 2022), the respondents issued a Memorandum dated December 4, 2024, cancelling the recruitment process
Source reference: para. 4The State justified the cancellation based on a Government Order dated August 29, 2022, which mandated that all recruitments be conducted through the West Bengal Municipal Service Commission to ensure "rational and optimal utilization of manpower" following pandemic-related austerity measures
Source reference: paras. 4, 7, 11Issues
1. Whether the Government Order dated August 29, 2022, could retrospectively cancel a selection process for Category 'D' posts initiated under the 2005 Recruitment Rules
Source reference: para. 5 / 112. Whether the West Bengal Municipal Service Commission Act, 2018, and its subsequent 2022 Rules, mandate the recruitment of Category 'D' (Group-D) posts through the Commission
Source reference: para. 14 / 15Law Applied
Section 7 of the West Bengal Municipal Service Commission Act, 2018, which empowers the Commission to recruit only for "prescribed" categories of posts
Source reference: para. 13Rule 9 of the West Bengal Municipal Service Commission Rules, 2022, which limits the Commission’s consultative and recruitment functions to Categories ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ posts
Source reference: para. 13-14The Development Authority (Recruitment and Promotion) Rules, 2019, which explicitly distinguishes Group-D recruitment, placing it under a Selection Committee rather than the Commission
Source reference: para. 15Administrative orders cannot be applied arbitrarily to interfere with rights accrued under a validly initiated process unless the law specifically covers those categories
Source reference: para. 18-19Reasoning
The court reasoned that while the 2018 Act established a Commission for recruitment, its jurisdiction is restricted to posts "as may be prescribed." Under the 2022 Rules, the State prescribed recruitment through the Commission only for Categories ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’
Source reference: para. 14Since 'Mazdoor' is a Category ‘D’ post, it remains outside the Commission’s statutory purview
Source reference: para. 15The court highlighted a Government notification dated March 3, 2025, which expressly reiterated that the Commission handles only Categories A, B, and C. Consequently, the State’s reliance on the August 29, 2022, Memorandum to cancel the petitioners' selection was deemed a misapplication of administrative policy
Source reference: para. 17, 19The court further observed that the recruitment was initiated in 2019 with State concurrence before the 2022 Rules were framed, and the Division Bench's prospective directions in WPA(P) 428 of 2025 regarding the Commission’s authority did not invalidate prior, validly held Category 'D' selections
Source reference: paras. 16, 18Holding
The Court held that the cancellation of the recruitment process for the post of Mazdoor was arbitrary and based on a non-application of mind
The Court set aside the Office Memoranda dated December 4, 2024, and May 23, 2023. The Director of Local Bodies was directed to revisit the matter and pass fresh orders for the approval of the petitioners' appointments based on the recruitment rules applicable at the time the process was initiated
Source reference: para. 19, 20Original Court PDF
SK. NAZMUL HAQUE AND ORS.vsSTATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS.
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