Selim Ansary vs State of West Bengal and others

Sanjib Banerjee, J.—The petition has brought to light the alarming manner in which the administration has proceeded in the matter of recruiting senior treatment supervisors in the districts.

The petitioner alleges arbitrariness in candidates from Purulia district not being given preference over candidates from other districts for Purulia posts. The petitioner refers to the memorandum of March 17, 2015 by which applications were invited by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Purulia. One of the clauses in the memorandum provides that residents of Purulia district will be given preference.

When the matter was taken up on February 1, 2016, an impression was given on behalf of the State that preference on residential basis would arise if there was a tie between two candidates. The matter was adjourned at the request of the State for relevant documents to be produced.

Curiously, the State has produced guidelines for the recruitment process for engaging contractual employees under the District Health and Family Welfare Samities of all districts published on May 14, 2015. The guidelines do not include any clause giving preference to candidates on the basis of their residence.

It is inconceivable that guidelines for the recruitment process would be issued after the recruitment process has been initiated by inviting applications at least in Purulia district. Again, one of the conditions stipulated in the relevant memorandum published for Purulia district has been completely overlooked in the guidelines for all districts being framed.

Clearly, there is a complete lack of coordination and the contradiction between the relevant conditions included in the Purulia memorandum and the subsequent guidelines betrays the abject failure of the administration in the relevant department.

The Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare will file an affidavit to explain the anomaly. The recruitment process will not be completed and no letters of engagement will be issued to any person in any district before the confusion is cleared.

Let this petition appear a week hence for the relevant Secretary''s affidavit to be received.

Certified website copies of this order, if applied for, be urgently made available to the parties upon compliance with the requisite formalities.