JAYENDRA SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE two Petitioners in this writ petition are Livestock Extension Officers working in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Government of Uttaranchal. They challenge Annexure 10 letter dated 21 -07 -2005 from the Secretary, Animal Husbandry Department, Government of Uttaranchal to the Additional Director, Animal Husbandry, Government of Uttaranchal recommending/ nominating four Livestock Extension Officers as candidates sponsored by the State Government for admission to the Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (BVSc and AH) Course of the Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (hereinafter referred to as the University) for the year 2005 -2006. Three of the four sponsored candidates have been impleaded in the writ petition as Respondents Nos. 7, 8 and 9. The fourth sponsored candidate Sri Dinesh Kumar belongs to Scheduled Caste and he has already been admitted to the Course. In view of an interim order passed in a connected case, Respondents Nos. 7, 8 and 9 have not been admitted to the Course so far. Mr. N.S. Pundir, Learned Counsel for the Petitioners submitted that since the Petitioners do not belong to Scheduled Caste, the challenge in the writ petition is confined to the nomination of Respondents Nos. 7, 8 and 9 and that the Petitioners do not challenge the nomination of Sri Dinesh Kumar.

(2.) ACCORDING to the Government, the first Petitioner was not eligible for admission as per the prescribed minimum eligibility qualifications for candidates sponsored by the Government of Uttaranchal and therefore, he was not sponsored by the Government. In the case of the second Petitioner who is eligible for admission, it is stated that he was not sponsored by the Government, as his rank was too low in the merit list prepared by the Selection Committee. It is not disputed by the Respondents that the selection of sponsored candidates was not made on the basis of seniority among the eligible Livestock Extension Officers who applied. According to the Petitioners, the selection should have been made on the basis of seniority among the eligible candidates.

(3.) ADMITTEDLY , there is no Government Order laying down the criteria for selection of the sponsored candidates. However, it is not disputed that in the previous years, selection of sponsored candidates was made by a Selection Committee constituted by the Head of the Animal Husbandry Department on the basis of merit assessed in accordance with certain specified norms. Those norms have been stated in paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Additional Affidavit dated 28 -08 -2005 filed by Smt. Damyanti Dohare, Additional Director, Animal Husbandry, Gopeshwar, Chamoli. For convenience, the said paragraphs 4 and 5 of the additional affidavit are extracted hereunder: