RAVINDRA KUMAR SHRIVASTAVA Vs. STATE OF M.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is working as a daily wager employees in the forest department. Chief Conservator of Forest, Bhopal, Circle Bhopal, M.P. published an advertisement on 20.8.20008. In this advertisement, application was invited for daily wager employees working in the department for recruitment in the post of forest guard. Petitioner appeared in the examination and secured 64.80 marks in the selection process. Firstly petitioner was disqualified on the ground of physical fitness as he was not able to reach expansion of 5c.m. of his chest. However the requirement of expansion of 5cm. was later liberalized on the report of a committee and persons who have chest of 79 c.m. are held to be eligible for appointment. Petitioner could not finally succeed in getting appointment on the post of Forest Guard but other candidates who had secured lesser marks i.e. 57% and 45% were given appointment on the post of forest guard.

(2.) It is submitted by the counsel appearing for the petitioner that as per condition number 13 of advertisement dated 20.08.08 merit list is to be prepared at State level and on availability of post at District or Circle Level appointment will be offered to those candidates as per the merits. It was submitted that despite petitioner opted more marks was not offered appointment and candidates securing less marks were given appointment. The anomaly occurred in appointment of candidates for the reason that merit list was prepared at Division level and not at State level as per the advertisement. Due to said fault, entire selection process is vitiated and therefore advertisement may be quashed and fresh selection process may be initiated. Counsel appearing for the petitioner argued that rules of the game cannot be changed during the selection process.

(3.) Respondents had filed reply to the writ petition and it was stated by them that examination was conducted under recruitment rules known as MP Class-III Non-ministerial Forest Service Recruitment Rules, 1999. It was submitted that petitioner cannot attain the minimum physical standard and therefore he was disqualified. It was further mentioned in the reply that document P-2 and P-3 are not approved by competent authority and no one has been given relaxation as suggested by documents. An affidavit has also been filed by the respondents by which it has been stated that two candidates namely Rishiraj Choubey and Narendra Tripathi who had secured lesser marks than petitioner has been appointed as a regular Forest Guard in Chhindwara and Ujjain Forest Division. In additional return, it is averred by the State Government that district wise merit list was prepared, appointments to be made as per district wise merit list prepared. If seats in the district remain vacant then candidate from other districts who secured their position in the select list of respective district could be migrated in the district where posts are lying vacant. Candidates in the select list of district are shifted to other districts where posts are vacant. Due to this, if a person is in the waiting list and though he has secured higher marks than other candidates who are in the select list of other district cannot be appointed as he is not in the select list of his own district. Same was the case with the petitioner. He secured 64 marks but he was not in the select list of districts but was in waiting list. Candidates Rishi Raj Choubey and Narendra Kumar Tripathi were in the select list of Bhopal District but due to non-availability of post they could not get appointment and they were migrated to District Chhindwara and Ujjain and got appointment and their marks was less than the petitioner.