MAJOR SAURBH CHARAN Vs. LT. GOVERNOR DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRESENT writ petition has been filed challenging the Order dated 27th February, 2014 issued by the Lieutenant Government, NCT of Delhi whereby 05 points for Inter State Transfer have been abolished. The said Order dated 27th February, 2014 further inter alia directs ''If the school has conducted draw of lots for those applicants securing 70 points, that draw shall remain valid for the selected/confirmed candidates only. Fresh draw of lots shall be held for remaining applicants having 70 points, including wait listed applicants and those applicants who were earlier securing 75 points because of 'Inter State Transfer Case 'category. ''

(2.) ON the oral prayer of Mr. Ashok Agarwal, Advocate, Social Jurist, a Civil Rights Group, is impleaded as respondent No.4 in the present proceedings. The amended memo of parties be filed within one week. Let a complete set of paper book be supplied to Mr. Agarwal. Issue notice. Mr. V.K. Tandon, learned counsel accepts notice on behalf of respondents No.1 to 3. Mr. Ashok Agarwal, learned counsel accepts notice on behalf of respondent No.4. They pray for and are granted four weeks to file their counter affidavits. Rejoinder affidavit, if any, be filed before the next date of hearing. Mr. Nidhesh Gupta, learned senior counsel for petitioners submits that no cogent or justified reason has been given in the impugned Order for deleting 05 points for Inter State Transfer. He further submits that the impugned Order is totally unjustified as the petitioners ' children had already been successful in the draw of lots held by the concerned schools. Mr. Gupta contends that as the petitioners ' wards had been selected on the basis of the inter -state transfer points, they did not get an opportunity to participate in the main draw at a lower level with all the other candidates who had equal points. To illustrate his submission, Mr. Gupta, learned senior counsel for petitioners states that if there were 1000 applicants for 100 seats and 10 applicants were selected on the transfer points and the rest of the 90 seats were filled up with candidates having 70 points, then the wards of the petitioners did not get an opportunity to compete with all other 70 pointers for the 90 seats. Mr. Gupta states that while previously the wards of the petitioners had a success chance of 1:10 even without transfer points, today they have a success chance of 1:91.

(3.) THIS Court may mention that at this stage it is not inclined to stay the impugned Order in its entirety as this Court has been informed that upon a random survey of 58 leadings schools it was found that approximately 46.80% of open seats had been claimed under the Inter State Transfer Case and that 844 out of 1520 applications were not genuine. Keeping in view such a large percentage of fictitious and fraudulent applications and the fact that it is difficult to check all the applications within the prescribed time frame, this Court is prima facie of the view that respondents authorities were within their jurisdiction to delete the 05 points on account of Inter State Transfer.