SHAILESH KUMAR SONWANE Vs. STATE OF M.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will govern the disposal of WP No. 4792/2020, W.P. No. 4801/2020, W.P. No. 4808/2020 and W.P. No. 6675/2020 since it is jointly submitted by counsel for the parties that these writ petitions involve common issue in the identical fact situation.

(2.) For convenience the facts are noted from W.P. No. 4792/2020. In the writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for a direction to the respondents to appoint the petitioner on the vacant post of Assistant Grade-III by giving effect to the waiting list and has further challenged the validity of Rule 17(3) of the Rules of 2019.

(3.) An advertisement dated 02.06.2017 was issued by the respondent No. 3 for recruitment to the post of Assistant Grade-III. After the screening, District-wise select list (Annexure P/3) was declared and the waiting list (Annexure P/2) in respect of UR, OBC, SC and ST candidates was also published on 20.09.2018. As per the averment, in the petition, the name of the petitioners find place in the waiting list. Further case of the petitioners is that certain vacancies are still unfilled on account of non-joining of some of the selected candidates. As per the averment made in para 5.7 of W.P. No. 4792/2020, the respondents have cleared the waiting list by making some of the appointments and the petitioner's name has come up from Sr. No. 42 to Sr. No. 5 in the waiting list and 6 seats in the UR category are still lying vacant. Further case of the petitioner is that since the advertisement was published on 02.06.2017, the result of the examination was declared on 20.09.2018, therefore, validity of the select list will be 18 months in terms of the rules which were prevailing at the time of issuance of advertisement and conduct of examination and the same cannot be reduced to 12 months on the basis of new Rules which have subsequently come in force.