SHAILENDRA BHATNAGAR Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Sri B.D. Upadhyay, learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri Sudhanshu Dhulia, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri D.S. Patni, learned counsel for the respondents.

(2.) BY means of this writ petition, the petitioners have prayed to issue a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to call the candidates for interview for the posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) at least three times to the number of vacancies.

(3.) CONTENTION of the petitioners is that the Uttaranchal Peyjal Sansadhan Vikas Evam Nirman Nigam invited applications for recruitment of Assistant Engineers (Civil/Mech.) and Junior Engineers (Civil/Mech.). The petitioners were qualified for the post of Junior Engineer, hence they have applied for the post of Junior Engineer (Civil) and appeared in the written examination. After written examination the result was declared on 25 -01 -2005. In the result, the respondents have not disclosed that how many candidates of the reserved category were declared successful. Out of 62 vacancies of Assistant Engineer (Civil) advertised by the respondents they have called 148 candidates i.e. more then 2 candidates for one post, out of 9 vacancies of Assistant Engineer (Mech.) they have called 27 candidates i.e. 3 candidates for one post, out of 241 vacancies of Junior Engineer (Civil) they have called 299 candidates i.e. 1.2 candidates for one post. Similarly out of 38 vacancies of Junior Engineer (Mech.) they have called 108 candidates i.e. more than 2 candidates for one post, for interview. It is apparent that the respondents have not adopted uniform criteria in calling the candidates for interview. On one hand the respondents called more than 2 candidates for one post in respect of the vacant post of Assistant Engineer (Civil), Assistant Engineer (Mechanical) & Junior Engineer (Mechanical), but on the other hand they have called only 299 candidates for interview against 241 posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) i.e. less than 2 candidates for interview for one post for which they have given no explanation.