BRAHMESHWAR PRASAD PATHAK Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, who is serving as an Assistant Prosecuting Officer in District Varanasi, has filed this petition for a direction upon the respondents to provide one chance to the petitioner to appear at the Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service Examination -2014 in the light of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Deepak Aggarwal Vs. Keshav Kaushik & Ors., 2013 5 SCC 277 even though he would be more than 45 years on 1 January 2015. The petitioner has also sought a direction upon the respondents to provide to him reservation available to dependents of freedom fighters and to grant relaxation of five years in the upper age limit as provided in Rule 12 of U.P. Higher Judicial Officers Service Rules, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rules').

(2.) IT is stated that an advertisement was issued in the year 2007 for direct recruitment to the Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service. The petitioner was not found eligible for the post as he was an Assistant Prosecuting Officer. The petitioner did not challenge this decision. However, one Sanjay Agarwal and some others challenged the decision taken not to consider Assistant Prosecuting Officers as eligible for direct recruitment pursuant to the advertisement issued for direct recruitment to the Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service. These writ petitions were ultimately disposed of with the observation that those petitioners who were enrolled as Advocates and had practiced as such for seven years were eligible to appear in Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service Examination and they cannot be disqualified only on the ground that they had been appointed as Assistant Prosecuting Officers. Accordingly, the circular dated 26 April 2007 issued by the Registrar General was quashed. In Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) Nos.17201 -17213/2007 filed by the High Court to assail this decision, the Supreme Court on 28 September 2007 issued notices and in the meantime stayed the operation of the order of the High Court. The aforesaid Special Leave Petitions were ultimately disposed of on 21 February 2014 in terms of the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in Deepak Aggarwal .

(3.) AN advertisement inviting applications for direct recruitment to the Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service has now been issued in 2014. The advertisement requires that the Advocates of not less than seven years standing as on 1 January 2015 who must have attained the age of 35 years and must not have attained the age of 45 years as on 1 January 2015 can apply. It also provides that the age limit shall be higher by three years in case of SC/ST/OBC candidates belonging to the State of Uttar Pradesh only. The petitioner is admittedly more than 45 years of age as on 1 January 2015 and, therefore, is not eligible to be considered for appointment under the said advertisement.