RANJIT KUMAR SWAIN Vs. DIRECTOR CENTRAL RICE RESEARCH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India is directed against the order dated 4 9 1998 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal. Cuttack Bench, Cuttack, in O. A. No. 572 of 1997.

(2.) THE brief facts leading to this application, as it reveals from the record, are as follows :

(3.) THE learned Tribunal held that the date of the petitioner being recorded as 21 5 1977, he had not completed 18 years of age as on 1 1 1995, which was the reference date, and there fore, he was not eligible to be sponsored for the post in terms of the requisition dated 13 12 1995, The Tribunal further held that the fact that petitioner was underaged was deliberately suppressed before it while the interim order was passed allowing him to sit in the examination. From the documents filed by o. p. No. 1, the Tribunal found that on the basis of written and type test, petitioner and o. p. No. 3 were recommended in that order to be called for the interview fixed to 1 10 1997, and on the basis of such interview, the recruiting authorities had recommended only the name of petitioner for the post. As it was already found that the petitioner did not have requisite age on the reference date, and his participation in the selection process was subject to the result of the original application, the Tribunal concluded that the petitioner could not have legally appeared in the interview and his selection could not, therefore, be sustained. Accordingly, the application of the petitioner was rejected by the Tribunal and consequently direction was given to o. p. No. 1 to consider the candidature of o. p. No. 3 who has qualified and stood second in the written test and type test and further directed to complete the process within thirty days.