The Supreme Court in Soumen Paul & Ors. vs. Shrabani Nayek & Ors. has clarified that eligibility for public employment must be assessed either on the date specified in the applicable recruitment rules or, if no such date is mentioned, on the cut-off date specified in the recruitment advertisement. Setting aside a Calcutta High Court Division Bench judgment, the Supreme Court held that candidates pursuing the D.El.Ed. course for the 2020–2022 session in West Bengal were validly allowed to participate in the recruitment process for Assistant Teachers initiated by notification dated October 21, 2022.
Background:
The appellants were enrolled in the 2020–2022 batch of the Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) course conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education. Due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and administrative delays, their course could not be completed by the usual date of June 30, 2022. Fearing disqualification from the upcoming recruitment process, and concerned about exceeding the upper age limit, the appellants approached the Calcutta High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking several directions, including a stay on the recruitment process until their final results were declared.
While the writ petition was pending, the Board declared the Part-I results on September 29, 2022, and informed the Court that Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualified candidates from the 2020–2022 session who had passed Part-I would be allowed to participate in the recruitment process. Relying on this assurance, the Single Judge disposed of the writ petition, recording the Board’s commitment to permit such participation.
Arguments Before the High Court Division Bench:
The private respondents—already qualified with D.El.Ed. certificates—challenged the Single Judge’s order by contending that Rule 6(2) of the West Bengal Primary School Teachers Recruitment Rules, 2016 (as amended on December 22, 2020) required candidates to possess the minimum qualifications as on the date of advertisement. They asserted that the relevant date was September 29, 2022, and as the appellants did not hold the D.El.Ed. qualification by then, they were ineligible.
The Division Bench accepted this argument, held September 29, 2022, as the recruitment notification date, construed Rule 6(2) as imposing a mandatory cut-off, and set aside the participation of the appellants in the recruitment process.
Supreme Court’s Analysis:
A Bench comprising Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Manoj Misra reversed the Division Bench’s decision. The Court held that the actual recruitment notification was dated October 21, 2022—not September 29, 2022—and that Rule 6(2) does not prescribe a cut-off date for obtaining qualifications but rather incorporates the prevailing NCTE norms.
The Court observed:
“The purpose and object of the rule is not at all to declare a cut-off date for obtaining the qualifications.”
It further endorsed the view taken by the Board in its affidavit before the High Court that the NCTE notification did not fix a date by which the qualification must be obtained and that eligibility could be considered even as of the date of evaluation or the last date for submission of applications.
Relying on Bhupinderpal Singh vs. State of Punjab [(2000) 5 SCC 262], Rakesh Kumar Sharma vs. State (NCT of Delhi) [(2013) 11 SCC 58], and the recent Constitution Bench judgment in Tej Prakash Pathak vs. Rajasthan High Court [(2025) 2 SCC 1], the Court reiterated the settled legal principle that:
“Where no date is specified in the rules or advertisement, the relevant date for determining eligibility shall be the last date for receipt of applications.”
The Court also noted that the appellants had filed the writ petition on August 22, 2022, well before the recruitment notification, and that the Board’s submission allowing their participation was a just resolution of the delay caused by exceptional circumstances.
Decision:
Allowing the appeals, the Supreme Court set aside the Division Bench’s order in MAT No. 1725 of 2022 and directed that the recruitment process initiated by the October 21, 2022 notification be continued without disqualifying the appellants.
“We have no hesitation in exercising our power and jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice for the parties,” the Bench concluded.
All pending applications for intervention and impleadment were dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty granted to seek remedies before appropriate forums.
