MANAGER RESERVE BANK OF INDIA Vs. GURURAJA RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the order of the learned single Judge dismissing Writ Petition No. 2508 of 1977. The facts leading to the appeal are mostly undisputed and may briefly be stated as follows :

(2.) The Reserve Bank of India (the 'Bank'), the appellant herein, invited applications for the posts of Clerks in Grade II. Gururaja Rao, respondent herein, was one of the applicants. He was successful in the written test and also in the inteiview. An offer of appointment dated February 4, 1977 was communicated to him containing, inter alia, the following conditions :

(3.) It is now necessary to state something ebout the Bank's circulars regarding medical examination of candidates for recruitment. The Bank has, from time to time, issued certain instructions by way of guidance to Medical Officers with regard to pre-recruitment medical examination of candidates. One such memorandum was dated March 23, 1967. It was followed by a confidential letter dated November 6, 1969 from the Deputy Manager of the Bank at Bombay to all the centres of the Bank. Those instructions seem to have been revised on November 6, 1969 and again on January 7, 1970. The circular dated January 7, 1970 was produced before the learned single Judge perhaps in justification of the certificate of medical fitness issued by the Bank's Medical Officer. It referred to the standard height and weight of candidates seeking employment in the Bank. It was argued that the refusal to appoint Gururaja Rao for the post for which he was selected was arbitrary, since it was solely based on the conditions of medical fitness which were never disclosed to candidates. It was also urged before the learned single Judge that if the criteria of medical fitness had been made known to the candidate, he would have acquired those qualifications and made himself fit accordingly, or he would have challenged the validity of those qualifications prescribed for the post. On the first part of the contention, learned Judge observed that the instructions regarding the medical fitness laid down by the Bank were in the nature of additional criteria or conditions of eligibility of all candidates and, therefore, those conditions of eligibility must have been made known to all candidates while inviting applications for the posts. The candidates have the right to know all the conditions of eligibility before hand so as to enable them to conform to the qualifications if possible, or to question its validity if aggrieved. The learned Judge thereupon held that without disclosing the criteria or conditions of eligibility to the candidates competing for appointment, the application of such criteria or conditions of eligibility confidentially circulated would be arbitrary. discriminatory and opposed to the right to equality guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 (1) of the Constitution. So stating, the learned Judge allowed the writ petition with a direction to the Bank to re-consider the case of Gururaja Rao for appointment after subjecting him for further medical examination and appoint him if the Medical Officer certifies that he is medically fit. The learned Judge also directed the Medical Officer to consider the fitness of Gururaja Rao to take up the appointment in the Bank without reference to the criteria laid down in the said confidential circular dated January 7, 1970.