(S.A. Bobde, C.J. and S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, JJ.)
Malik Mazhar Sultan and Another ________________ Appellant(s);
v.
U.P. Public Service Commission Through Its Secretary and Others ____________________________________________ Respondent(s).
IA No. 52864/2020 In Civil Appeal No(s). 1867/2006, decided on September 22, 2020
(Only I.A. No. 52864/2020 to be Listed) (For IA No. 52864/2020 – Clarification/Direction) And I.A. No. 89500/2020 – For Directions IA No. 52864/2020; Civil Appeal No(s). 1867/2006; I.A. No. 52864/2020; IA No. 52864/2020; and I.A. No. 89500/2020
The Order of the court was delivered by
Order
IA No. 52864/2020 in C.A. No. 1867/2006
1. The High Court of Calcutta has come up with the present application seeking a modification of the timeline fixed by this Court in Malik Mazhar Sultan v. U.P. Public Service Commission, for the recruitment of judicial officers for the recruitment year 2020.
2. In Malik Mazhar Sultan v. U.P. Public Service Commission – (2008) 17 SCC 703, this Court fixed a schedule for filling up of vacancies of judicial officers. The schedule is to commence with the notification of the number of vacancies being issued by the 31st March every year and the whole process coming to an end with the issuance of appointment letters by 30th September indicating the last date of joining as 31st October, 2020.
3. Mr. Jaideep Gupta, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the applicant – High Court of Calcutta, drew our attention to the difficulties faced by the High Court of Calcutta due to Pandemic and requested for modification of the schedule for the current year viz., 2020.
4. Admittedly, even the first step namely that of notifying the vacancies, has not been taken due to the announcement of lock down by 24.03.2020.
5. Therefore, taking into account the difficulty expressed, we order a revised schedule for appointment of judicial officers in the State of West Bengal for the year 2020 as follows :
| S. No. | Particulars | Direct Recruitment from Bar/Limited Competitive Examination (Timelines) | Normal Promotion (Timelines) | Civil Judge (Junior Division) to Civil Judge (Senior Division) (Timelines) | Revised Date |
| 1. | Vacancy Declaration | 31st March | 31st March | 31st March | 15.10.2020 |
| 2. | Advertisement inviting Application | 15th April | 31.10.2020 | ||
| 3. | Last date of receipt of Application | 30th April | 15.11.2020 | ||
| 4. | Publication of list of eligible Applicants/Officers | 15th May | 15th May | 15th May | 30.11.2020 |
| 5. | Receipt of Judgments | 30th May | 30th May | 15.12.2020 | |
| 6. | Issuance of Admit Cards | 16th May to 15th June | 01.12.2020 to 31.12.2020 | ||
| 7. | Written Examination | 30th June | 15.01.2021 | ||
| 8. | Declaration of Result of Written Examination | 16th August | 28.02.2021 | ||
| 9. | Viva – Voce | 1st to 7th September | 15th to 31st July | 15.03.2011 to 31.03.2021 | |
| 10. | Declaration of Final Select List | 15th September | 31st August | 15th September | 15.04.2021 |
| 11. | Issuance of Appointment Letter by the Government | 30th September | 30th September | 30th September | 30.04.2021 |
6. The instant interlocutory application stands disposed of accordingly.
I.A. No. 89500/2020 in C.A. No. 1867/2006.
7. Taken on Board.
8. The applicant – High Court of Madhya Pradesh has come up with the present application seeking deferment of MPHJS (District Judge – Entry Level) (Direct Recuitment from Bar) Examination 2020 till the Examination Committee finds it suitable to conduct the examination.
9. It is stated in the application that the notification for recruitment was published on 16.01.2020 and preliminary examination was fixed to be held on 16.03.2020. However, the examination got postponed due to the current Pandemic.
10. On 24.08.2020, a new notification was issued fixing the date of preliminary examination as 30.09.2020. But due to the increase in the number of persons affected by Covid-19, a request was received from the MP High Court Bar Association on 29.08.2020 seeking postponement of the examination. A total of 3113 candidates are likely to appear for the examination and out of them 1942 candidates belong to other States. The examinations are to be conducted at Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur.
11. During the period from 25.03.2020 to 08.08.2020, 8 judicial officers, 52 judicial employees, and 46 Advocates tested positive for Corona.
12. Therefore, taking into account the above factors, the instant interlocutory application is allowed permitting the Examination Committee of the Madhya Pradesh High Court to review the situation once in a month and take a decision to conduct the above examination.
13. The first of such review shall be conducted in the first week of November, 2020.
14. The High Court may endeavour to hold the above examination as soon as the situation becomes conducive and the time-schedule shall stand extended accordingly.
15. We make it clear that other High Courts may also file such applications, if so warranted.
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