Authority: Calcutta High Court (Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction – Appellate Side)

Order Date: 01.10.2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: Petitioners Jamiruddin Ahamed and another vs. West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL) and others.
  • Background: On 29‑Nov‑1995 a resolution was passed at a Hemtabad Panchayat Samiti meeting, attended by land‑owners (including the petitioner’s father) and WBSEDCL, agreeing that the poorest family member would be considered for employment with WBSEDCL after the land was sold at a concessional rate for a 33/11 kV sub‑station project.
  • Judicial History: The High Court previously ordered on 01‑Mar‑2016 (WP 2685 (w) 2016) that the petitioner submit his bio‑data and that his candidature be given weightage as a reserved‑category candidate with maximum concession, irrespective of eligibility, and that WBSEDCL inform him of any future recruitment. Subsequent orders on 25‑Apr‑2023 and 08‑Dec‑2023 reaffirmed this direction and required immediate consideration of his prayer within six weeks.
  • Respondent Actions: WBSEDCL conducted open‑market recruitments for various posts (Assistant Engineer, Junior Engineer, Assistant Manager, etc.) but the petitioner did not meet the 50 % qualification threshold for those posts. The Director (HR), Avijit Kumar Latua, issued an order on 30‑Jan‑2024 rejecting the petitioner, stating he only qualified for a Technical Support Hand (Trainee) post, and that no suitable vacancy existed.
  • Omission Highlighted: The Court noted that WBSEDCL carried out Class‑III recruitments in 2017 and 2018, which the petitioner was qualified for, but the authority failed to inform him, thereby violating the 01‑Mar‑2016 direction to notify the petitioner of any eligible recruitment.
  • Legal Reasoning: The Court held that the omission was a material breach of a binding judicial mandate, amounting to suppression of a material fact. It emphasized that a State instrumentality cannot benefit from its own failure to comply with a court order, invoking principles of Article 14, promissory estoppel, and the doctrine that a public authority must not defeat a judicially recognised right by administrative inaction.

Final Outcome

  • The impugned order dated 30‑Jan‑2024 is set aside.
  • WBSEDCL is directed to appoint the petitioner immediately to an appropriate Class‑III or any other subordinate post, subject to verification of his identity, original qualification, and other formal requirements, in line with the earlier judicial orders.
  • The appointment must be effected within three weeks from the date of communication of this order.
  • The relevant senior officials (Senior Manager HR & H, Employees Services and ER‑II, Director HR, Chairman) are directed to ensure compliance.

Topics: Public Employment, Judicial Enforcement