Authority: West Bengal High Court, Court No.13

Order Date: 23 September 2026

Case Overview

  • The order addresses two intra‑court appeals: F.M.A. 240 of 2026 (with I.A. No. CAN 1 of 2026 and I.A. No. CAN 2 of 2026) filed by Suman Jana & Ors. and Falguni Maity @ Falguni Maity Samanta & Anr. versus the State of West Bengal & Ors.; and M.A.T. 1542 of 2026 (with I.A. No. CAN 1 of 2025) filed by the same appellants.
  • The appellants are individuals who obtained Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) certificates after the original online application deadline of 21 July 2025 for the Assistant Teacher recruitment conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) through the 2nd State Level Selection Test.
  • They relied on the earlier judgment dated 14 September 2026 in F.M.A. 1002 of 2026 (Mir Mazharul Islam & Ors. vs State of West Bengal & Ors.), where the Court had directed the WBSSC to accept EWS certificates submitted up to 12 August 2025, extending the option‑editing deadline for categories (SC, ST, OBC, EWS, Physically Handicapped) to that date.
  • The Court noted that the original recruitment notification dated 30 May 2025 did not permit candidates to indicate any reserved category at the time of initial application.
  • Counsel for the appellants, Mr. Firdous Samim, produced a letter that was not in the prescribed format for EWS certification.
  • The Court reaffirmed that only those appellants who had selected the EWS option and edited their category before 12 August 2025 are to be treated as lawful EWS applicants.
  • The Court clarified that the deviation from the general recruitment principle (that category must be indicated before the final application deadline) was specific to the facts of F.M.A. 1002 of 2026 and does not create a general rule.
  • Reference was made to Clause 5.3 of the Office Memo dated 31 January 2019 issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training (Res‑II) Section, stating that its stipulation does not apply to the present appellants.
  • The argument that the WBSSC extended the editing deadline to 26 September 2025 (via Notification dated 22 September 2025) was rejected because that extension pertained solely to the caste‑category option, not to EWS.

Final Outcome

  • F.M.A. 240 of 2026 is disposed of; the appeal is dismissed.
  • Consequently, the connected applications CAN 1 of 2026 and CAN 2 of 2026 are also disposed of.
  • In the matter of M.A.T. 1542 of 2026, the Court observed that one appellant had an EWS certificate issued before 12 August 2025 but did not exercise the option within the stipulated period, while other appellants obtained certificates on 19 March 2026, well beyond the deadline.
  • The Court dismissed M.A.T. 1542 of 2026 and the associated CAN 1 of 2026.
  • No order as to costs was made in either appeal.
  • All parties are directed to download a server copy of this order from the official website of the Court.

Topics: Legal Judgment, Education Recruitment, EWS Reservation