STATE OF ORISSA Vs. SUDHIR KUMAR BISWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A challenge was made before the orissa Administrative tribunal to some portion of the proviso to Rule 5 (1 of orissa District Revenue Service (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1983, hereinafter the Rules; so also to certain part of Rule 6 (1 of the Rules. The tribunal has accepted the challenge. Hence these appeals.

(2.) Rule 5 (1 deals with the eligibility conditions of direct recruitment and has, inter alia, provided that the candidate must be below 28 years. This finds place in clause (b) which has the following proviso :

(3.) The challenge was to the underlined portion of the proviso. As to this, the tribunal has stated that the same has conferred unbridled power; there being no guidelines for invoking this power. We are, however, of the view that the challenged portion of the proviso does contain some guidelines. The first is that the categories in relation to which the power can be invoked has to be analogous to the two categories specifically mentioned in the rule. To us this appears to be the clear intention, as in the first part of the proviso mention has been made to some categories, and so, "other categories" have to be akin to them, like Other Backward Classes. This apart, as the power has been conferred on the government and can be exercised only by issuing general or special order, a presumption of invoking the power in appropriate cases only is permissible to be drawn. Further, the extent to which maximum age-limit may be relaxed cannot also be unlimited, as in the case of candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, as well as for other categories of candidates mentioned in the first part of the proviso, the limit is of five years. We are of the view that the relaxation in case of other categories cannot also exceed five years.