Letters Patent Appeal No.1513 OF 2000 Against the judgment and order dated 24.8.2000 Passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court in CWJC No.4481 of 1999. ------- UMA SHANKAR SINGH & ORS--------------Appellants Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS----------- -Respondents ------- For the Appellants : M/s Sadanand Jha, Sr.Advocate & Asim Jha, Advocate -------- P R E S E N T THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BARIN GHOSH THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JAYANANDAN SINGH …………………………… Barin Ghosh & J.N.Singh, JJ. : Considering the averments made in the application for condonation of delay (I.A.No.6293 of 2000), we allow the same. 2. An advertisement was published in the year 1987 inviting applications from persons having advertised eligibility for being appointed as teachers. One of the eligibility criteria was that the candidate applying should be trained. The appellants responded to the said advertisement and thereby disclosed that in addition to having other eligibility criteria, they have satisfied the requirement of being trained, which they have obtained from institutions situate outside the State. After consideration of applications received - 2 - in response to the said advertisement, a panel was prepared in 1988. In the panel names of many persons were included, who were not as bright as the appellants on the basis of their achievements in the notified criterias. Appellants, thereupon, made representations, which were of different dates. Appellants thereupon learnt that since they acquired training from outside the State, they have not been considered as trained and accordingly they have been left out. Similar stand was taken in respect of some other persons. While those persons challenged such stand by filing a writ petition in this Court, the appellants did not do so. The persons, who challenged such stand in this Court, succeeded and a Division Bench pronounced that obtaining of training from an institution otherwise recognized, but situate outside the State, do not render the persons obtaining training therefrom as untrained in the State of Bihar. On the basis of such pronouncement those persons got their names entered in the panel. After coming to know the success of those persons, the appellants approached this Court by filing a writ petition registered as CWJC No.4481 of 1999 seeking the same and similar relief. Inasmuch as the approach of the appellants - 3 - to this Court was delayed by about 11 years from the date of preparation of the panel, in question, a learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition on that ground. Hence, the appellants are before us. 3. Learned counsel appearing in support of the appeal submitted that for the delay the appellants alone have and no one else has suffered. It was submitted that no third party interest has also been created. The appellants, therefore, it was submitted, should not be made to suffer further. It was submitted that the delay in the instant case should have accordingly been ignored and upon taking note of the fact that there is a binding pronouncement of this Court, which declares that the decision on the basis whereof the appellants lost and for which in the panel their names were not included, was a wrong decision, appropriate directions should have been issued. 4. It is true, that every delay in approaching this Court is not a fetter, but normally the Writ Court would not exercise its discretion in favour of a litigant, who has, for no reason approached the Writ Court after lapse of a great deal of time. In the instant case the delay - 4 - may not be a fetter, but the fact remains that until such time other persons got success in the writ application independently instituted by them, the appellants were not confident that the decision complained of was a wrong decision. The appellants were waiting on the fence and approached this Court only on the basis of success of others. In such a situation the Writ Court will loathe to exercise its discretion when the delay is enormous. 5. We, therefore, find no reason to interfere. The appeal is dismissed. ( Barin Ghosh, J. ) ( Jayanandan Singh, J.) Patna High Court Dated 2nd July, 2008 A.H. /N A F R