Ruchika Ranjan vs Bihar State University Service Commission

Harish Kumar, J

Heard the parties.

The petitioner is aggrieved with the information No. BSUSC 762 dated 13.03.2025 whereunder the petitioner’s application at sl No. 838 has been rejected on the ground of her Ph.D. Degree is of the year 2006 and the certificate of (5) five point has been submitted after the cut off date as prescribed in the advertisement, besides the petitioner has no qualification of NET/BET.

The facts of the case as briefly stated in the writ petition are that the petitioner, an aspirant for the post of Assistant Professor in Political Science in terms with the Advertisement No. 762 dated 21.09.2020 issued by the Bihar State University Service Commission (in short ‘Commission’), submitted her application. It is to be noted that the last date for submission of application was scheduled till 02.11.2020. The Commission further issued communication that the last date for receipt of application on Commission’s web portal was extended upto 10.12.2020 and for hard copy has been extended upto 30.12.2020.

Learned Advocate for the petitioner submitted that the very rejection of the candidature of the petitioner is out and out unsustainable in law as well as on facts, besides it shows non application of mind. Since the petitioner was not required to pass NET/BET as she had already passed Ph.D. examination on 20.11.2006, hence as per the requirement in the advertisement which clearly stipulates that those who have been acquired Ph.D. Degree in accordance with the UGC Regulation 2009 and 2016 are exempted from passing NET/BET. It is further contended that all the certificates were duly attached with the application and the same was uploaded on the web portal of the Commission before the cut off date. However, (5) five point certificate has been issued belatedly vide letter No. 1071/20 dated 23.12.2020 by the Magadh University, the same was sent to the Commission on 25.12.2020 under Speed Post, much prior to the last date prescribed for submitting hard copy of the certificates along with application. In the aforesaid premise, it is submitted that the rejection of the candidature of the petitioner is out and out arbitrary and illegal.

Mr. Tuhin Shankar, learned Advocate for the Commission submitted that the date for uploading the application form and the relevant documents were duly prescribed by the Commission and the petitioner was required to upload all the documents along with the certificate before the cut off date 10.12.2020. However, the petitioner failed to do so and subsequent thereto, the petitioner has sent the Ph.D. (5) five point certificate through Speed Post which was not at all acceptable in terms with the advertisement, especially Clause 11.1 and Clause 15. It is further submitted that the hard copy of only those documents could be filed which have already been uploaded in the web portal of the Commission since the petitioner has failed to upload the Ph.D. (5) five point certificate before the cut off date of 10.12.2020, his candidature has rightly been rejected.

The identical issue has come up for consideration before this Court in CWJC No. 10670 of 2024 along with other analogous cases which came to be disposed of by the coordinate Bench of this Court on 27.07.2024, wherein the Court has been pleased to hold that the selection process must be conducted strictly in accordance with the stipulated procedure in the advertisement. Moreover, the petitioner’s candidature cannot be accepted on the strength of Ph.D. (5) five point criteria, certificate signed by the Registrar of the concerned University, submitted subsequent to the last date of submission of the application prescribed in the advertisement or the time extended for such submission by the Commission. Similar issue has also come up for consideration in CWJC No. 17367 of 2024, wherein the Court has refused to extend the relief after having found that the Ph.D. (5) five point certificate has not been submitted in terms with the advertisement. Besides the aforesaid fact, the Court has also taken note of the fact that the selection process has already been completed and the candidates have been selected and in the event if the writ application is allowed, one candidate in the category of the petitioner shall be ousted but then the petitioner has not been impleaded the last candidate in her category as a respondent which further makes the writ application vulnerable. Further in CWJC No. 10262 of 2024, this Court has held that the cut off date as prescribed in the advertisement should be scrupulously followed, failing which the candidate is not eligible to get the benefit.

Having considered the submissions advanced by the learned Advocates for the respective parties and taking note of the legal position as well as the admitted fact that the petitioner failed to submit her application alongwith Ph.D. (5) five point certificate before the cut off date which was prescribed for uploading all the documents, in terms with the specific stipulation of the captioned advertisement, besides the facts, the entire selection procedure has culminated with the appointment of the successful candidates, this Court does not find any merit in the writ petition. Accordingly, the same stands dismissed.