DHEER ANUSH SINGH BHATTI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant had filed a writ petition challenging the action of the respondent-Punjab Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as 'Commission') for not extending the benefit of reservation under Ex-servicemen category to the Lineal Descendants of Ex-servicemen (hereinafter referred to as 'LDESM') despite the fact that the requisite number of candidates in the said category as per the advertisement and the rules have not qualified for short listing by the Ex-servicemen. It was further asserted that this action of the respondent-Commission being in gross violation of the terms and conditions stipulated in the advertisement as well as the Punjab Recruitment of Ex-servicemen Rules, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as '1982 Rules') cannot sustain and deserves to be set aside, which writ petition stands dismissed by learned Single Judge vide judgment dtd. 25/3/2021.

(2.) Briefly the facts are that the Commission, in pursuance to the requisition received from the Government of Punjab, Department of Personnel, issued advertisement bearing No. 14 on 8/12/2020 for conducting Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination-2020 to fill up 75 posts of various officers in the Government of Punjab. Appellant applied under the LDESM category and was issued Roll No.30614. He appeared in the preliminary examination held on 13/2/2021 result whereof was released on 13/3/2021, wherein appellant scored a total of 180.5 marks out of total 400 marks.

(3.) Commission released list of roll numbers provisionally short listed for the mains examination on 12/3/2021 mentioning therein the cut off marks for different categories. The cut off marks for the ESM category was mentioned as 160.5. As regards the LDESM category is concerned, no cut off marks were fixed nor was any list of roll numbers issued for short listing for the mains examination. Appellant approached this Court aggrieved because of the non-inclusion of the roll numbers of the LDESM category despite the fact that the appellant had scored 180.5 marks, which is much higher than the cut off marks fixed for the Ex-servicemen category. The assertion on the part of the appellant is that the LDESM category candidates have been denied the right of consideration for the mains examination despite the fact that 11 posts were reserved for the Ex-servicemen/LDESM category and the number of candidates, who were to be short listed for participation in the mains examination had to be 13 times the number of posts to be filled up, therefore, the said number would come to 143 candidates. The action of respondents being violative of 1982 Rules cannot sustain.