Swapna Sarkar v. State Of West Bengal And ORS.
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction Appellate Side Present :- Hon'ble Justice Amrita Sinha WPA 5106 of 2026 Swapna Sarkar Vs.
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
For the writ petitioner :- Mr. Arpan Guha, Adv.
For the State :- Mr. Sandip Mandal, Adv.
Heard on :- 10.03.2026 Judgment on :- 10.03.2026 Amrita Sinha, J.:- 1.
Affidavit of service filed in Court today is taken on record. 2.
Instruction forwarded by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Admin & Law), West Bengal Police Recruitment Board signed on 9th March, 2026 be retained with the records.
3.
The petitioner participated for recruitment in the post of Constable in West Bengal Police. She got disqualified in the Physical Measurement Test (PMT). Her height, checked on 10th January, 2026, was found to be 159.40 cm. The minimum required height as per the Recruitment Rules is 160 cm.
4.
Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that the petitioner appeared in similar examinations earlier and in the PMT she was found to be 160 cm.
5.
It has been submitted that the height of the candidate could not have reduced by passage of such a short period of time. Specific submission is that the result of PMT conducted on 10th January, 2026 is faulty and incorrect.
6.
Prayer has been made to reevaluate and/or re-measure the height of the petitioner.
7.
On a perusal of the admit card issued by the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board to the petitioner for PMT scheduled on 10th January, 2026 it appears that there are several instructions. One of such instructions mentions that the decision of the Range Recruitment Board will be final and binding upon the candidates at any stage of PMT and candidates dissatisfied with the PMT may appeal in writing before the Chairperson of the Range Recruitment Board concerned on the same day of the test. No appeal in this regard will be entertained in future. 8.
Admittedly, the petitioner did not approach the appellate authority on the date of the examination. No reason has been disclosed as to why the appellate authority was not approached by the candidate despite being aggrieved by the result of PMT. It is only for the first time that objection to the result of PMT has been taken in the instant writ petition which was affirmed on 26th February, 2026 and filed on 2nd March, 2026. Prior thereto, there was no document to show that the petitioner expressed her dissatisfaction with the result of the PMT.
9.
As the Rules relating to recruitment clearly bars appeal against PMT on any date but the date of the examination, accordingly, there is no scope to
entertain the prayer of the petitioner for reevaluation and/or remeasurement of her height at such a delayed point of time. The recruitment process has proceeded to a considerable extent by now.
10. If the prayer of the petitioner is accepted at such a delayed point of time, then there may be several other unsuccessful candidates who may be encouraged to approach the Court challenging the result of the tests conducted by the authority to assess the relative merit of a candidate. The same may lead to a resultant delay in conclusion of the recruitment process which is not desirable at all.
11. A candidate who participates in a recruitment process would be bound to abide by the Recruitment Rule guiding the same, unless of course, the Rule is challenged and the same is set aside or interfered with by a competent forum.
12. In view of the above, no relief can be granted to the petitioner in the instant writ petition. The writ petition fails and is hereby dismissed.
13. Parties to act on the basis of the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.
14. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance of all requisite formalities. (Amrita Sinha, J.)