OMVEER SINGH PANWAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is aggrieved by the action of the respondents in denying him the appointment to the post of 'Soldier Clerk' in the Army which petitioner describes as illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory. It is so because according to him, after having undergone the selection process, he was declared successful therein. He has, therefore, filed the present writ petition, inter alia, praying that the letter dated 23rd March, 2001 vide which he was denied the appointment be quashed and mandamus be issued to the respondents to issue him an appointment letter for the post of 'Soldier Clerk' forthwith and he be sent for training for incorporating him in the permanent cadre corps in the strength of the Indian Army.

(2.) The facts, as disclosed by the petitioner in the writ petition claiming the aforesaid relief, make the following reading; The petitioner on 8th November, 2000 visited the office of the respondent No.3 and came to know that a rally selection for 153 posts of general duty, nursing clerks and soldier clerks is about to take place on 13th November, 2000 for Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad zone. The eligibility conditions prescribed by the office of the respondent No.3 were that the candidate should be high school level. The petitioner got his name entered in the rally register at the office of the respondent No.3. He was asked to report on 13th November, 2000 in the selection grounds for the aforesaid tests. The petitioner had opted for the post of Soldier Clerk.

(3.) The number of vacancies for the aforesaid post were 24. It is also stated in the petition that according to the practice followed at the selection grounds on 13th November, 2000, the petitioner was asked to line up alongwith the other candidates with his original documents regarding his education for the purpose of verifying the original documents. This verification is undertaken before a candidate is made to appear in the written test to short list the candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria. The documents of the petitioner were verified by the competent authority at his turn and he was found eligible for undergoing the aforesaid tests. The original Date of Birth Certificate of the petitioner was marked with the seal of I.R.O., meaning thereby that the petitioner was eligible to be sent for the said tests. Thereafter, the short listed candidates were made to undergo physical test, which included 1600 meter race, pit jumping, crossing of beame etc. The petitioner duly qualified in the physical test. The documents of the petitioner were once again verified according to the practice prevalent in the Selection Board. As he was declared successful in the physical test, he was asked to appear for the medical examination conducted on 14th November, 2000. He cleared that as well. Thereafter, he appeared for written examination alongwith short listed candidates on 26th November, 2000. The result of the written examination was declared On 11th December, 2000 wherein 24 candidates were declared successful out of 153 short listed candidates. The petitioner's name was also found placed in the said list. He was accordingly asked to come on 17th December, 2000 with the original educational qualification documents. After seeing and verifying the original documents, the competent officer asked the petitioner to deposit the photocopies of the documents with the office of the respondent No.3 for the purpose of getting them verified from the Board/University which had issued the certificates and the petitioner was asked to report on 22nd December, 2000 for checking the position of the verification of documents. The practice which is followed by the Recruitment Board is that as soon as the report from the concerned Board/University is received by the office of the respondent No.3 and the documents are found genuine, the candidate is issued travelling warrants to report to the appointed training centre.