JUDGMENT : Songkhupchung Serto, J. Heard Mr. M.Choudhury, learned counsel for the petitioners in all the writ petitions. Also heard Mr. S.Dutta, learned Sr. counsel appearing for the respondents No. 1 & 2 in all the writ petitions and Mr. J.I. Borbhuiya, learned Standing counsel appearing for the respondents No. 3 & 4 in all the writ petitions. 2. All the writ petitioners appeared in the recruitment examination for the post of Group-A Officer Scale-II in Regional Rural Banks (in short, RRBs) but for different departments/disciplines in pursuant to the advertisement issued by the Director, IBPS, dated 09.09.2016. The petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 8173 of 2017, the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7946 of 2017 and the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 2250 of 2018 applied for Information Technology Officer, Scale-II; the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 644 of 2018 applied for Chartered Accountant, Scale-II; the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7948 of 2017, and the petitioner in W.P.(c) No. 646 of 2018 applied for Agricultural Officer, Scale-II; the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7958 of 2017 applied for General Banking Officer, Scale-II, and the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 8179 of 2017 applied for Marketing Officer, Scale-II. The relevant portions of the Advertisement are reproduced here below ; IBPS Institute of Banking Personnel Selection Common Recruitment Process for Recruitment of Officers (Scale-I, II & III) and Office Assistant (Multipurpose) in Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) Website: www ibps.in In case of queries/complaints please log in to http://cgrs.ibps.in/ Any eligible candidate, who aspires to join any of the Regional Rural Banks listed at (A) as Group "A"-Officers (Scale-I, II & III) and Group "B"-Office Assistants (Multipurpose), is required to register for the Common Recruitment Process (CWE for RRBs-V). For the posts of Officers SCALE I and Office Assistants (Multi-purpose) the examination will be two tier i.e. the online examination will be held in two phases, preliminary and main. Candidates who apply for the post of Office Assistants (Multi-purpose) will be provisionally allotted on the basis of the marks obtained by them in the Main examination and the vacancies reported by the RRBs. Candidates who apply for the post of Office Assistants (Multi-purpose) will be provisionally allotted on the basis of the marks obtained by them in the Main examination and the vacancies reported by the RRBs. For the post of Officers SCALE I, candidates who will qualify in preliminary examination and shortlisted will have to appear for Main examination and shortlisted candidates in the main examination will subsequently be called for a Common Interview to be coordinated by the Nodal Regional Rural Banks with the help of NABARD and IBPS in consultation with appropriate authority. Candidates who apply for SCALE II (Generalist and Specialists) and SCALE III will appear for a single online examination and shortlisted candidates in the single examination will subsequently be called for a Common Interview to be coordinated by the Nodal Regional Rural Banks with the help of NABARD and IBPS in consultation with appropriate authority. Depending on the vacancies as per the business needs of the Regional Rural Banks and as reported to IBPS, candidates shortlisted will be provisionally allotted to one of the Regional Rural Banks keeping in view the merit cum preference (state wise for Officers in SCALE I and Office Assistant (Multipurpose)), the spirit of Govt. Guidelines on reservation policy, administrative convenience, etc. The validity for CWE for RRBs-V will automatically expire at the close of business on the day which is one year after the date of Provisional Allotment or until a fresh provisional allotment is made, whichever is earlier, with or without giving any notice. Indicative post-wise and category-wise vacancies of each of the Regional Rural Banks are given vide Annexure-I. Recruitment in RRBs is a dynamic process which depends upon restriction imposed, business volume, business growth, health of the organizations, branch expansion, internal and external factors, structural changes etc. Vacancies mentioned here are indicative and anticipated as communicated by the RRBs. However, Provisional allotment will be made based on the actual vacancies reported by the RRBs. This system of Common Recruitment Process-(CWE, Common Interview and provisional allotment in Regional Rural Banks) has the approval of the appropriate authorities. IBPS, an autonomous body, has received a mandate from the organisations mentioned at (A) below, to conduct the recruitment process as mentioned above, once a year. IBPS will make arrangements for conducting online preliminary examination for Officers SCALE I and Office Assistant (Multipurpose) and declare result of online preliminary examination. IBPS, an autonomous body, has received a mandate from the organisations mentioned at (A) below, to conduct the recruitment process as mentioned above, once a year. IBPS will make arrangements for conducting online preliminary examination for Officers SCALE I and Office Assistant (Multipurpose) and declare result of online preliminary examination. IBPS will inform the shortlisted candidates about the online main examination. There will be a single level examination for Officers SCALE II and Officers SCALE III. IBPS will declare the results of the main/single examination and inform the shortlisted candidates about the interview in the case of Officers SCALE I, II and III. Interviews will be coordinated by Nodal Regional Rural Banks with the help of NABARD and IBPS in consultation with appropriate authority. For Office Assistant (Multipurpose), the final allotment will be done on the basis of the candidate's performance in the Online main examination and the vacancies reported by the RRBs. Prospective candidates will have to apply to IBPS after carefully reading the advertisement regarding the process of examinations, interview (wherever applicable) and provisional allotment, eligibility criteria, online registration processes, payment of prescribed application fee/intimation charges, pattern of examination, issuance of call letters etc. and ensure that they fulfil the stipulated criteria and follow the prescribed processes. A. PARTICIPATING RRBs Sr.No Name of the RRB Present Head Office State/UT Desired Local Language Proficiency as prescribed by the Participating RRBs 1. - - - - 2. - - - - 3. - - - - 4. - - - - 5. Assam Gramin Vikash Guwahati Assam Bank Assamese, Bengali, Bodo B. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Prospective Candidates should ensure that they fulfil the specified eligibility criteria before applying for the CRP: Candidates may please note that the eligibility criteria specified is the basic criteria for appointment to the aforesaid posts in the Regional Rural Banks. However merely applying for, qualifying in the CWE and getting provisionally allotted in one of the RRBs does not imply that a candidate will necessarily be eligible for employment in any of the Regional Rural Banks. It is expressly clarified that the ultimate authority for recruitment is the Regional Rural Bank itself. The RRB concerned may, in its sole discretion, reject the candidature of anyone provisionally allotted to it through the CWE. Please note that the eligibility criteria specified herein are the basic criteria for applying for the post. It is expressly clarified that the ultimate authority for recruitment is the Regional Rural Bank itself. The RRB concerned may, in its sole discretion, reject the candidature of anyone provisionally allotted to it through the CWE. Please note that the eligibility criteria specified herein are the basic criteria for applying for the post. Candidates must necessarily produce the relevant documents in original and a photocopy in support of their identity and eligibility - pertaining to category, nationality, age, educational qualifications etc. as indicated in the online application form at the time of interview/document verification, as the case maybe. Please note that no change of category will be permitted at any stage after registration of the online application and the result will be processed considering the category which has been indicated in the online application, subject to guidelines of the Government of India in this regard. Merely applying for CWE/appearing for and being shortlisted in the online examination (preliminary and main) and/or in the subsequent interview and/or provisionally allotted and/or subsequent processes does not imply that a candidate will necessarily be offered employment in any of the Regional Rural Banks. No request for considering the candidature under any category other than the one in which one has applied will be entertained. K. PROVISIONAL ALLOTMENT Issuance of offer of appointment including terms and conditions, formalities for verification, joining etc. is solely the decision of the RRBs and shall be final and binding. IBPS shall have no role therein. Any queries in this regard shall be directed to the RRBs only. A reserve list to the extent of vacancies as per extant provision will be drawn in each category subject to exigencies and availability of candidates. This does not guarantee provisional allotment to/recruitment by the RRBs. In the event of RRBs providing further vacancies, provisional allotment will be carried out for the candidates in the reserve list subject to vacancies being provided within one year after the date of provisional allotment. However if no vacancy is furnished by the RRBs owing to exigencies or otherwise during the validity period the candidates under the reserve list will not be considered for provisional allotment. The reserve list will expire automatically on the day which is one year after the date of Provisional Allotment or until a fresh provisional allotment is made, whichever is earlier, with or without any notice. The reserve list will expire automatically on the day which is one year after the date of Provisional Allotment or until a fresh provisional allotment is made, whichever is earlier, with or without any notice. Candidates who are not provisionally allotted or not in the reserve list will not be considered for any further process under CWE RRBs-V. IBPS is not responsible in case the RRBs do not notify sufficient vacancies to exhaust the reserve list. Similarly, neither the RRBs nor IBPS is bound to notify every vacancy that may arise in any RRB during pendency of reserve list. IBPS is not responsible for the recruitment of candidates, and will only act upon the vacancies notified by the RRBs in that regard within the specified period. The decision of IBPS in provisional allotment of RRBs shall be final and binding upon the selected candidates. However IBPS reserves the right to cancel, reallot Organisation-wise allocation/change the process depending upon exigencies or otherwise. Provisionally allotted candidates (subject to fulfilling all required criteria) may be posted anywhere." Mumbai Director Date :09.09.2016 IBPS 3. In the result declared by the IBPS all the petitioners were selected and they were allotted provisionally to Assam Gramin Vikash Bank. The provisional allotment was notified on 10.03.2017 by the Director of IBPS. The selection and provisional allotment notification in respect of the petitioners are reproduced here below; INSTITUTE OF BANKING PERSONNEL SELECTION Combined result for single exam & interview for recruitment of Officers Scale-II(Specialist Officers) in Regional Rural Banks-(CWE RRB-V) (i) In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7958 of 2017 Post : General Banking Officer Scale-I Category : General Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 1432130299 1500072834 47.02 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK (ii). In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 8179 of 2017 Post : Marketing Officer Scale-II Category : ST Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 1767050069 1500089672 38.20 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK (iii) In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7948 of 2017 Post : Agricultural Officer Scale-II Category : GENERAL Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 1358090029 1500091006 26.05 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK (iv) In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 646 of 2018 Post : Agriculture Officer Scale-II Category : OBC Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 2668090101 1500040758 31.30 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK (v) In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 644 of 2018 Post : Chartered Accountant Scale-II Category : GENERAL Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 1594130105 1500002305 47.25 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK (vi) In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 8173 of 2017 Post : Information Technology Officer Scale-II Category : GENERAL Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 2433130233 1500024218 52.05 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK (vii) In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 7946 of 2017 Post : Information Technology Officer Scale-II Category : ST Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 2693050456 1500002825 51.95 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK (viii) In respect of petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 2250 of 2018 Post : Information Technology Officer Scale-II Category : ST Roll No. Registration No. Combined Marks obtained (out of 100) Allotted Bank 1313050117 1500031876 47.02 ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK 4. Another notification relating to provisional allotment of Officers (Scale-II & III) under RRBs-V which was issued by the Director, IBPS and which is relevant in connection with the criterias and guidelines based on which candidates are selected in the recruitment examination and allotments to different Regional Rural Banks are made, and the conditions to which the appointments to be given are subject to and, the power of the RRBs to refuse offer of employment to successful candidates are given is reproduced here below; "Provisional allotment of officers (Scale-II and III) under CWE RRB V NOTICE Provisional allotment under CWE RRB-V has been done based on the post-wise and category-wise vacancies for the post of Officers Scale-II (GBO and Specialists) and Officers Scale-III furnished by the Regional Rural Bank (details vide Annexures A) subject to availability. Candidates can view their result status on IBPS website www ibps.in by entering their Registration Number or Roll Number and Password. Please Note; 1. No change in the data already registered by the candidate in the online application form is possible. 2. The said provisional allotment has been done based on merit-cum-preference keeping in view the spirit of Govt. Guidelines on reservation policy, various guidelines issued by Govt. of India/Others from time to time, administrative exigency etc. 3. A candidate belonging to reserved Category, selected on the basis of norms as applicable to General Category, has been treated at par with a General category candidate for drawing up the merit list. Such candidates has not been adjusted against a reserved post. 4. In the event of two or more candidates having obtained the same score, merit order is decided as per date of birth (the candidate senior in age is placed before the candidate junior in age), as per the prevailing practice. 5. The provisional allotment is subject to the candidate fulfilling the criteria for RRBs and identity verification to the satisfaction of the allotted RRB. This does not constitute an offer of employment. In case it is detected at any stage of the recruitment process that, the candidate does not satisfy the eligibility criteria his/her candidature/ chance in the process shall stand forfeited. 6. Offer of appointment, terms and conditions, formalities for verification, joining etc. will be issued from the allotted RRB in due course. Decision of RRBs shall be final and binding. 7. 6. Offer of appointment, terms and conditions, formalities for verification, joining etc. will be issued from the allotted RRB in due course. Decision of RRBs shall be final and binding. 7. The recruitment process/appointment is solely the purview of the RRBs and shall be final and binding, IBPS has no role in this connection. 8. If the candidate does not avail the offer/appointment from the allotted RRB his/her candidature/chance in the process shall stand forfeited. 9. A list of candidates (in Registration Number order) provisionally allotted will be displayed on our website on or before 10.04.2017. However this does not guarantee offer of employment. Decision of the RRB shall be made. 10. A reserve list to the extent of approximately 10% of the vacancies will be drawn in each category subject to exigencies and availability of candidates. This does not guarantee provisional allotment to/recruitment by the RRBs. In the event of RRBs providing further vacancies, provisional allotment will be carried out for the candidates in the reserve list subject to vacancies being provided within one year after the date of provisional allotment. However if no vacancy is furnished by the RRBs owing to exigencies or otherwise during the validity period the candidates under the reserve list will not be considered for provisional allotment. The reserve list will expire automatically on the day which is one year after the date of Provisional Allotment i.e. 09.03.2018 or until a fresh provisional allotment is made, whichever is earlier, with or without any notice. 11. Candidates who are not provisionally allotted or not in the reserve list will not be considered for any further process under CWE RRB-V. 12. The post-wise and category-wise maximum and minimum scores (Single Examination and Interview scores out of 100) for the provisional allotment and reserve list is indicated in Annexure B. 13. The decision of IBPS in provisional allotment of RRBs is final and binding upon the selected candidates. However IBPS reserves the right to cancel, reallot RRB-wise allocation/change the process depending upon exigencies or otherwise 14. No correspondence will be entertained from the candidate about allotment status and/process. 15. Provisional allotment however is subject to Court order, if any. 10.03.2017 Sd/- Director, IBPS." 5. As per the annexures appended to the above notification, the vacancies in regard to the post applied for by the petitioners in the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank were indicated as follows; (i). No correspondence will be entertained from the candidate about allotment status and/process. 15. Provisional allotment however is subject to Court order, if any. 10.03.2017 Sd/- Director, IBPS." 5. As per the annexures appended to the above notification, the vacancies in regard to the post applied for by the petitioners in the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank were indicated as follows; (i). General Banking Officer; 4 posts for SC, 2 posts for ST, 6 posts for OBC and General category-12 posts, total=24. W.P.(C) No.7958 of 2017 Vacancies under RRB CWE V (INDICATIVE) Post : Officers Scale-II (General Banking) BANK SC ST OBC GENERAL TOTAL Out of which VI HI OC - - - - - - - - - ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK 4 2 6 12 24 0 0 0 (ii). Marketing Officer; 1 post for ST, 1 post for OBC, 1 post for General, total=3. W.P.(C) No.8179 of 2017 Vacancies under RRB CWE V (INDICATIVE) Post : Officers Scale-II (Marketing Officer) BANK SC ST OBC GENERAL TOTAL Out of which VI HI OC - - - - - - - - - ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 (iii). Agricultural Officer; 2 posts for ST, 1 post for ST, 3 posts for OBC, 7 posts for General, total-13. W.P.(C) No.7948 of 2017 & W.P.(C) No. 646 of 2018 Vacancies under RRB CWE V (INDICATIVE) Post : Officers Scale-II (Agriculture Officer) BANK SC ST OBC GENERAL TOTAL Out of which VI HI OC - - - - - - - - - ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK 2 1 3 7 13 0 0 0 (iv). Chartered Accountant ; 1 post for SC, 1 post for OBC, 2 posts for General, total-4. W.P.(C) No.644 of 2018 Vacancies under RRB CWE V (INDICATIVE) Post : Officers Scale-II (Chartered Accountant) BANK SC ST OBC GENERAL TOTAL Out of which VI HI OC - - - - - - - - - ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK 1 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 (v). Information Technology Officer; 1 post for SC, 1 post for ST, 3 posts for OBC, 5 posts for General, total-10. Information Technology Officer; 1 post for SC, 1 post for ST, 3 posts for OBC, 5 posts for General, total-10. W.P.(C) No.8173 of 2017, W.P.(C) No. 7946 of 2017 & W.P.(C) No. 2250 of 2018 Vacancies under RRB CWE V (INDICATIVE) Post : Officers Scale-II (Information Technology Officer) BANK SC ST OBC GENERAL TOTAL Out of which VI HI OC - - - - - - - - - ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK 1 1 3 5 10 0 0 0 6. In spite of the results declared and allotment notice issued by the IBPS and the existing vacancies as indicated above, the sponsored bank i.e. the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank did not take any further step for appointing the petitioners. Therefore, the petitioners approached the concerned authorities of the Bank but their efforts did not yield any positive result. Having no choice, they have come to this Court praying for issuance of appropriate writ or order or direction directing the respondents, particularly, the Bank i.e. the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank to complete the whole recruitment process and to take steps for issuing their appointment orders. Since, the petitioners applied for the same grade of Officers as per the same advertisement and since they were allotted to the same sponsored bank their cases have been heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment. 7. The issue that needs to be decided in these writ petitions is, whether the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank to whom the petitioners had been provisionally allotted to, after having been successful in the competitive examination conducted by a duly authorized institute, can deny appointment to them on the ground that the vacancies notified in the advertisement issued by the institute was without the approval of the Board of Directors of the Bank and the sponsor bank. 8. It is submitted by the learned counsel of the petitioners that after the allotments are made, the appointing authority can deny appointment to any successful candidate but only if the candidate cannot produce the relevant documents in original and photocopy in support of his/her identity and eligibility, nationality, age and educational qualifications etc. as indicated at paragraph-B of the advertisement. However, in this case, the respondents had prematurely rejected the provisional allotment of the petitioners without completing the process. as indicated at paragraph-B of the advertisement. However, in this case, the respondents had prematurely rejected the provisional allotment of the petitioners without completing the process. Therefore, the petitioners have made out a strong case for issuance of appropriate writ or order or direction directing the respondents to proceed with the recruitment process by asking the petitioners to produce the relevant original documents and their photocopies. 9. The learned counsel also submitted that the advertisement was issued after the Rural Banks had submitted their vacancy positions, therefore, after the examination is completed they cannot say that the vacancies indicated by them was without approval of Board of Directors and the sponsor bank. The learned counsel went further and submitted that sponsor bank has nothing to do with the creation of post and recruitment in the banks. Therefore, approval of sponsor bank for recruitment to the post for which the process is almost completed is not necessary. As such, that cannot be the reason for denying the petitioners to go through the final stage of the recruitment that is submission of original and photocopy of the relevant documents. It is also submitted by the learned counsel that two other Rural Banks namely, Manipur Rural Bank and Langpi Dehangi Rural Bank whose sponsor bank is also the United Bank of India like in the case of Assam Gramin Vikash Bank, had issued appointment orders to the successful candidates who appeared in the same combined examination. Therefore, if the petitioners are denied appointment it would amount to discrimination. 10. The learned counsel representing the respondents No. 1 & 2 submitted that as indicated in the advertisement itself the vacancies shown in the advertisement are only indicative and tentative, therefore, the petitioners cannot claim any right for appointment to such post. The learned Sr. counsel further submitted that to give or not to give appointment depends purely on the discretion of the bank. Merely because, the petitioners have been recommended by the IBPS does not entitle them to appointment because, the recommendation is only provisional and the vacancies indicated were also only tentative and indicative. The learned Sr. counsel in support of his submission referred to the 2nd para; paragraph-B and last two sub-paras of paragraph-K of the advertisement. Merely because, the petitioners have been recommended by the IBPS does not entitle them to appointment because, the recommendation is only provisional and the vacancies indicated were also only tentative and indicative. The learned Sr. counsel in support of his submission referred to the 2nd para; paragraph-B and last two sub-paras of paragraph-K of the advertisement. The relevant portions referred to by the learned counsel are given here below; "Depending on the vacancies as per the business needs of the Regional Rural Banks and as reported to IBPS, candidates shortlisted will be provisionally allotted to one of the Regional Rural Banks keeping in view the merit cum preference (state wise for Officers in SCALE I and Office Assistant (Multipurpose)), the spirit of Govt. Guidelines on reservation policy, administrative convenience, etc. The validity for CWE for RRBs-V will automatically expire at the close of business on the day which is one year after the date of Provisional Allotment or until a fresh provisional allotment is made, whichever is earlier, with or without giving any notice". B. ELIGIBILTY CRITERIA "Candidates may please note that the eligibility criteria specified is the basic criteria for appointment to the aforesaid posts in the Regional Rural Banks. However merely applying for, qualifying in the CRW and getting provisionally allotted in one of the RRBs does not imply that a candidate will necessarily be eligible for employment in any of the Regional Rural Banks. It is expressly clarified that the ultimate authority for recruitment is the Regional Rural Bank itself". "Merely applying for CWE/appearing for and being shortlisted in the online examination (preliminary and main) and/or in the subsequent interview and/or provisionally allotted and/or subsequent processes does not imply that a candidate will necessarily be offered employment in any of the Regional Rural Banks". K. PROVISIONAL ALLOTMENT "IBPS is not responsible in case the RRBs do not notify sufficient vacancies to exhaust the reserve list. Similarly, neither the RRBs nor IBPS is bound to notify every vacancy that may arise in any RRB during pendency of reserve list. IBPS is not responsible for the recruitment of candidates, and will only act upon the vacancies notified by the RRBs in that regard within the specified period. The decision of IBPS in provisional allotment of RRBs shall be final and binding upon the selected candidates. IBPS is not responsible for the recruitment of candidates, and will only act upon the vacancies notified by the RRBs in that regard within the specified period. The decision of IBPS in provisional allotment of RRBs shall be final and binding upon the selected candidates. However IBPS reserves the right to cancel, reallot Organisation-wise allocation/ change the process depending upon exigencies or otherwise." 11. The learned counsel also referred to the Annexure-1 of the advertisement wherein heading "RRBs CWEV vacancies (Indicative)" is given. He then referred to relevant portions of the annexure where the post to which the petitioners had been provisionally recommended are but given under the heading "vacancy not reported". After referring to the above documents, the learned Sr. counsel submitted that all these goes to show that the vacancies given in the advertisement was only indicative, therefore, the petitioners cannot claim to be appointed to such post as a matter of right. The learned Sr. counsel also referred to a copy of the letter dated 21.06.2016, of the Chief Manager, Assam Gramin Vikash Bank addressed to the Chief Manager, Personnel wherein, it was indicated that the vacancies given are provisional and subject to the approval of the Board. The learned Sr. counsel thereafter, submitted that the Board of Directors have not given their approval thereafter, and sponsor bank also did not give its approval to the same, therefore, the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank could not proceeded further with the recruitment process. The learned counsel submitted also that it is the sole discretion of the bank to accept or reject the recommendation, therefore, the discretion has been exercised and it cannot be questioned. Lastly, the learned counsel submitted that the validity of the recommendation has expired since more than a year has passed after the recommendation. 12. I have gone through the documents placed by both the learned counsels and also considered the facts and circumstances submitted by them. No doubt it was clearly notified in the advertisement that the vacancies indicated therein and for which the combined examination was conducted was indicative and provisional. However, that would not give the participating banks unfettered freedom or discretion to reject candidates who have successfully completed in the examination conducted by the institute authorized by them. No doubt it was clearly notified in the advertisement that the vacancies indicated therein and for which the combined examination was conducted was indicative and provisional. However, that would not give the participating banks unfettered freedom or discretion to reject candidates who have successfully completed in the examination conducted by the institute authorized by them. In a Country where the people have given to themselves a socialistic pattern of life and a welfare State any authority or power be it constitutional or statutory cannot be said to have a discretionary power that is totally unfettered or free from the test of reasonability. Every power or act exercised under any authority must have a reasonable reason to base on. To say that the respondents or participating banks can quietly watch and see the recruitment process going on and at the end of it all they can reject everyone who succeeded after having put in a lot of efforts that too simply by saying that it was indicated in the advertisement itself that the vacancies advertised was only indicative and provisional, therefore, they have their sweet discretion to do so. To allow existence of such authority or power in their hand would amount to adorning them with cloak of unfettered discretion beyond reasonableness. Further, it would also meant that we can have irresponsible statutory bodies who can play with the life of the people. I do not have any slightest doubt that that is or would be the intent of the law that gives discretionary power to the banks in matters of recruitment. It is of course true that the principle of law has been already settled which says that merely passing in the recruitment test or examination does not give indefeasible right to individual or individuals for appointment and that the appointing authority can always refused to give appointment. But it is also true that appointing authority can do so only for appropriate reasons. On this it would be relevant to refer to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Shankarsan Dash Versus Union of India, (1991) 3 SCC 47 , para-7 of the judgment. The same is reproduced here below; "7. But it is also true that appointing authority can do so only for appropriate reasons. On this it would be relevant to refer to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Shankarsan Dash Versus Union of India, (1991) 3 SCC 47 , para-7 of the judgment. The same is reproduced here below; "7. It is not correct to say that if a number of vacancies are notified for appointment and adequate number of candidates are found fit, the successful candidates acquire an indefeasible right to be appointed which cannot be legitimately denied. Ordinarily the notification merely amounts to an invitation to qualified candidates to apply for recruitment and on their selection they do not acquire any right to the post. Unless the relevant recruitment rules so indicate, the State is under no legal duty to fill up all or any of the vacancies. However, it does not mean that the State has the licence of acting in an arbitrary manner. The decision not to fill up the vacancies has to be taken bona fide for appropriate reasons. And if the vacancies or any of them are filled up, the State is bound to respect the comparative merit of the candidates, as reflected at the recruitment test, and no discrimination can be permitted. This correct position has been consistently followed by this Court, and we do not find any discordant note in the decisions in State of Haryana v. Subhash Chander Marwaha and Others, (1974) 1 SCR 165 ; Neelima Shangla v. State of Haryana and Others, (1986) 4 SCC 268 and Jitendra Kumar and Others v. State of Punjab and Others, (1985) 1 SCR 899. 13. Now reverting to the facts of the case, it is true that the institute that is IBPS had issued advertisement based on the provisional vacancies conveyed by the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank (respondents No. 2 & 3) but it is also equally true that thereafter, the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank had remained silent throughout the examination process and only came out with the plea or assertion that the vacancies were not approved by the Board of Directors and the Sponsor bank only when these writ petitions are filed. Between the advertisement and the examination there was a gap of three months. Between the advertisement and the examination there was a gap of three months. If the respondent Bank was not interested in recruiting officers as advertised already the IBPS should have been informed well ahead of time so that the candidates are informed. Since they have kept quite all through they are already estopped by their silent acquiescence. Section-17 of the Regional Rural Bank Act, 1976 and Rule-4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 of the Regional Rural Banks (Appointment and Promotion of Officers and Other Employees) Rules, 1998 provides as to who is responsible or has the authority in matters of post creation and filling up of the same in RRBs. The provisions are given here below; "Section-17. Staff of Regional Rural banks; (1) A Regional Rural Bank may appoint such number of officers and other employees as it may consider necessary or desirable in such manner as may be prescribed for the efficient performance of its functions and may determine the terms and conditions of their appointment and service." "Rule.4. Creation of Post; The Board may create requisite number of vacancies in each category of posts as are specified in the First Schedule to these rules in accordance with the guidelines approved by the Central Government from time to time. 5. Vacancies; The Board may determine the number of vacancies in each category of posts to be filled by direct recruitment or promotion, keeping in view the Guidelines approved by Central Government from time to time. 6. Filling up of vacancies;- (i) All vacancies determined under Rule-5 by the Board shall be filled by promotion or direct recruitment in accordance with the provisions contained in these rules and Third Schedule to these rules; (ii) Officers in Senior Management of SCALE IV and SCALE V are liable to be posted to any other Regional Rural Bank sponsored by the same Sponsor Bank as General Manager as per the decision of the Sponsor Bank. 7. Appointing Authority; The Chairman shall be the Appointing Authority in respect of officers and the General Manager shall be the appointing authority in respect of employees, if so authorized by the Board. Provided that if there is no incumbent to the post of General Manager, the Chairman shall be the Appointing Authority in respect of employees also. 8. 7. Appointing Authority; The Chairman shall be the Appointing Authority in respect of officers and the General Manager shall be the appointing authority in respect of employees, if so authorized by the Board. Provided that if there is no incumbent to the post of General Manager, the Chairman shall be the Appointing Authority in respect of employees also. 8. Direct recruitment; The vacancies of officers and employees shall be filled by each Regional Rural Bank in accordance with the provisions of Third Schedule of these rules and subject to such guidelines as may be issued by the Central Government from time to time." From the above provisions, it is clear that it is the Board and not the Sponsor Bank who has the authority in matters of post creation and filling up of the same. Therefore, the respondent Bank cannot take shelter under the plea that Sponsor Bank have not approved the vacancies or recruitment to the vacancies advertised. 14. On the point of time bar raised by the learned counsel of the respondents, it may be stated here that the same would not apply in the case of the petitioners since they had approached the respondents before the period of validity expired and litigation followed. 15. In view of the facts and circumstances and what has been stated above, the plea of the respondents No.1 & 2 cannot be accepted. Accordingly, the same is rejected. In consequences, they are directed to complete the process of the recruitment by inviting the petitioners to produce their relevant original documents and photocopies of the same in support of their identity, eligibility, nationality, age and educational qualifications etc. and thereafter, if their documents are found to be in order, issue appointment orders, if they are not otherwise found unsuitable. The whole process should be completed within a period of 1(one) month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.