ROOP CHAND SHARMA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who possesses Master's degree in Public Administration, joined Indian Air Force in July, 1965 during the National Emergency. The terms of engagement required the petitioner to serve the Armed Forces for 9 years as regular and 6 years as Reserved. This composite service after 15 years was required for attaining the age of superannuation. However, after rendering service of little more than 9 years, the petitioner was released on 31.8.1974. Thus his release was before superannuation.

(2.) In response to an advertisement issued by the Punjab Public Service Commission for recruitment to P.C.S. (Executive Branch) and other allied services, the petitioner applied against the post reserved for persons released from the Armed Forces and appeared in the written test conducted by the Commission in the year 1976. The case of the petitioner is that his result of the examination held in 1976 was not declared despite many representations made by him. The petitioner again applied for the post of P.C.S. (Executive Branch) and allied services in response to an advertisement in the year 1979 and appeared in the written examination held in Nov., 1979. There were, in all, 69 posts out of which 13 posts were meant for the Released Armed Forces Personnel under the Demobilised Indian Armed Forces Personnel (Reservation of vacancies in the Punjab Civil Services (Executive Branch) Rules, 1972. However, as far as allied Services are concerned, reservation for the posts is done under the rules known as Demobilised Armed Forces Personnel (Reservation of Vacancies in the Punjab State Non-Technical Services) Rules, 1968 as amended by 1st Amendment Rules, 1977. The petitioner though secured 169 marks out of 325 in the written examination, was not called for interview. The petitioner challenged the action of the Punjab Public Service Commission in not calling him for interview by filing a writ petition in this Honourable Court which was decided alongwith other writ petitions. A Division Bench of this Court vide judgment dated April 7, 1982 (CWP No. 4939 of 1981) dismissed the writ petition after holding that an ex-serviceman discharged on fulfilling the conditions of his enrolment under rule 15(2) (b) of the Air Force Rules, 1969, does not come within the ambit of Indian Armed Forces Personnel on demobilisation under rule 2(d) of the Rules and thus the Punjab Public Service Commission was justified in excluding the petitioner from consideration against the reserved vacancy. Feeling aggrieved in Civil Writ Petition No. 5516 of 1981, the petitioner filed Special Leave Petition No. 5474 of 1982 in the Honourable Supreme Court of India which was dismissed on 3.9.1982. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a Review Petition No. 177 of 1983 vide which Special Leave Petition No. 5474 of 1982 was restored by the Honourable Supreme Court vide order dated 30.8.1988 which reads as under:-

(3.) This is how the present writ petition has come up before us.