Judgment :- Undisputedly, the petitioner has been working as an assistant teacher in Naya Basti Shree Shima Junior High School (Hindi Medium) continuously since 3rd January, 1983. At the time of appointment as on 3rd January, 1983, the petitioner had the requisite qualification for the post in which he was appointed. However, at the time of his appointment, there was no sanctioned vacant post in the said school. As such he was appointed as an unapproved teacher in a non-sanctioned post. Subsequently, one post of assistant teacher was sanctioned by the concerned District Inspector of School in 1987. However, instead of appointing the petitioner in the said post another teacher was appointed in the said post. Thereafter in 1991 the District Inspector of School, by issuing a Memo on 20th August, 1991, granted permission for appointing one assistant teacher in the said school. The said post was reserved for Schedule Caste candidate. The said post ultimately could not be filled up as no suitable candidate from the Schedule Caste category was available. The said post, thus, remained vacant for a long time. In such a situation the petitioner herein moved a writ petition being C.O. No. 6069(W) of 1993 which was disposed of by a learned Single Judge of this Court directing the Director of School Education to hear the petitioner and pass necessary order. The Director of School Education, after hearing the petitioner and other interested parties, passed an order on 26th August, 1996 directing the school authority to consider the petitioner’s claim for his appointment in the said post along with others in future when any vacancy will be filled up as per the existing Recruitment Rules. The said order was passed by the Director of School Education by taking note of the fact that the petitioner has been rendering service in the said school for a long time quite satisfactorily and has the requisite qualifications for appointment as an assistant teacher in Bio-Science. The petitioner herein was not satisfied with the said order. The said order was passed by the Director of School Education by taking note of the fact that the petitioner has been rendering service in the said school for a long time quite satisfactorily and has the requisite qualifications for appointment as an assistant teacher in Bio-Science. The petitioner herein was not satisfied with the said order. As such, he filed another writ petition challenging the said order of the Director of School Education by contending that since suitable candidate from the Schedule Caste category was not available, the Director of School Education not only should have de-reserved the post so that the said post could have been filled up by any general category candidate but also should have passed an order for absorption of the petitioner against the said post as there was no vacancy in the post of an assistant teacher in Bio-Science in the said school. The said writ petition was registered as C.O. No. 17048(W) of 1996. While disposing the said writ petition another learned Single Judge of this Court, after taking note of a Government Notification being No. 51-TW/MC dated 4th April, 1987, held that by virtue of the said Government Notification, the post in question should have been regarded as dereserved and as such the school authority could have appointed the petitioner in the said post in obedience of the order of the Director of School Education by treating the said post as dereserved. Considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the said case and also by taking note of the fact that the Secretary of the said school, Headmaster of the said school, Assistant Inspector of the school and the Director of School Education have expressed their satisfaction with regard to his service which he rendered in the said school for such a long period, His Lordship held that the petitioner was entitled to get justice in equity as, despite he possessed requisite qualification for the post of an assistant teacher in the said school, he could not be appointed due to negligence on the part of the school authority in carrying out the order of the Director of School Education at the proper time. Thus, by taking note of such peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, His Lordship disposed of the said writ petition by directing the school authority to take steps in accordance with the order of the Director of School Education dated 26th August, 1996, for recruiting the petitioner in accordance with the Recruitment Rules prevailing at the time when the aforesaid order was passed by the Director of School Education. Direction was also given to permit the petitioner to appear in the interview in relaxation of his age bar along with other candidates. His Lordship further directed the school authority to appoint a qualified candidate in the said post in accordance with law after holding interview of the aspiring candidates for the said post. His Lordship also directed that the provision of the West Bengal School Service Commission Act which came into effect during the pendency of the writ petition, will not apply in this case with a rider that the order will not be treated as a precedence as it was passed in a peculiar facts and circumstances of this case. In pursuance of the aforesaid order, the Headmaster of the said school by his letter dated 29th December, 2007 requested the District Inspector of School (Secondary Education), Hooghly, to grant prior permission for filling up an additional post of assistant teacher in Bio-Science from the general category which was sanctioned by the Director of School Education vide Memo dated 2nd May, 1991. Subsequently, an interview was held for the said post. The petitioner along with the other candidates participated in the said interview. A panel was prepared by the selection authority for the said post. The petitioner was placed at the top in the said panel. The said panel was sent to the concerned District Inspector of School (Secondary Education), Hooghly for his approval. The said District Inspector of School refused to approve the said panel as the said selection process was initiated without obtaining any prior permission for filling up the said post from the concerned District Inspector of School. The said order of the District Inspector of School dated 15th September, 2009 which was communicated to the petitioner is appearing at page 32 of the writ petition. The said order is under challenge before this Court in this writ petition. The said order of the District Inspector of School dated 15th September, 2009 which was communicated to the petitioner is appearing at page 32 of the writ petition. The said order is under challenge before this Court in this writ petition. At a first glance of the said order, no apparent illegality is noticed therein as it is rightly pointed out by the concerned District Inspector of School that the panel which was prepared for filling up the said post cannot be approved in the absence of any prior permission granted by the concerned District Inspector of School authorizing the school authority to fill up the said vacancy. As such, this Court does not find any apparent illegality in the impugned order. But this is a case which, in my view, should not have been considered by applying this straight jacket formula as this case, in my view, cannot be considered without taking note of the history of series of litigations between the parties concerning petitioner’s prayer for absorption in the post of assistant teacher in the said school and the spirit of the orders passed by this Hon’ble Court from time to time in the earlier writ petition, as well as the orders passed by different authorities earlier as aforesaid. Thus if the history of the series of the earlier litigations concerning the said dispute and the spirit of the orders passed in connection therewith are taken into consideration, this Court holds that the concerned District Inspector of School was not justified in refusing to approve the said panel simply for want of prior permission which, in the present context, practically was a routine work of the concerned District Inspector of School who had no option but to grant such permission for filling up the said post in obedience to the earlier order passed by this Court as aforesaid. Admittedly, the petitioner possesses requisite qualification for the said post. Not only he has been rendering his service in the said school since 1983 to the satisfaction of the school authority but also the Assistant Inspector of School of School and the Director of School Education have expressed their satisfaction with regard to his service which he has been rendered in the said school since 1983. That apart he became successful in the selection test held by the selection authority for filling up the said post. That apart he became successful in the selection test held by the selection authority for filling up the said post. He was placed at the top in the panel. Besides all these facts as above, the concerned District Inspector of School ought not to have missed the direction of this Hon’ble Court passed in the earlier writ petition to that effect that the provision of the School Service Commission Act will not apply for filling up the said post in the facts of the instant case. Thus if the totality of the aforesaid circumstances are considered carefully, then it will follow that the post in question cannot be filled up through School Service Commission. Again, if the said post cannot be filled up as per the recruitment rules which was prevalent as on the date when the post in question was de-reserved, then the order passed by this Hon’ble Court in the earlier writ petition being C.O. No. 17048(W) of 1996 cannot be implemented. Thus the said post will remain vacant for ever. To overcome such a hurdle and to solve the said problem, the District Inspector of School ought to have regularized the defect in the selection process by taking a pragmatic approach in this matter. This Court does not find any impediment in approving the said panel by regularizing the said defect in the selection process in the manner as indicated above. Fact remains that there is a sanctioned post which still remains vacant in the said school. A decision was taken by the State authority for filling up the said post from the general category candidate. Everybody desired that the petitioner should be given an opportunity to participate in the selection process by relaxing his age bar as he has been rendering his service in the said school since 1983. Grant of prior permission for filling up the said post, in the facts of the present case, in my opinion, is a mere formality and the said defect in the selection process could have been regularized by the concerned District Inspector of School by taking note of the spirit of the orders passed by this Hon’ble Court as well as by the different authorities from time to time including the Director of School Education. In the facts of the instant case this Court holds that the panel in question should have been approved by the concerned District Inspector of School by regularising the said defect in the selection process by grant of post facto permission for filling up the said post. The order of disapproval of the panel which is impugned in the writ petition, thus, stands quashed. The concerned District Inspector of School (Secondary Education) is, thus, directed to approve the said panel and regularize the appointment of the petitioner at least with effect from the date when the aforesaid post was de-reserved by notionally fixing his pay scale commensurate to his educational qualification with effect from the date when the said post was de-reserved i.e. since when his right to be considered for his appointment in the said post was recognized by this Hon’ble Court while disposing of the earlier writ petition. It is, however, made clear that the petitioner will not be entitled to claim any pecuniary benefit for his past service on the basis of such notional fixation of the pay scale. However, his current salary will be paid on the basis of such notional fixation of his pay and the retiral benefits will be calculated on the basis of his last drawn salary. The writ petition is, thus, disposed of. It is, however, made clear that this order is passed as a special case by taking note of the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case without creating any precedence in this regard. The entire process should be completed by the respondents within 8 weeks from the date of communication of this order. The writ petition is, thus, disposed of. Urgent xerox certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties as expeditiously as possible.