MOHAMMED SUHAIL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER has approached this Court assailing the public notice dated 03.04.2013 (Annexure P-5) on the ground that the same is violative of the terms and conditions of the advertisement issued by the respondents, in pursuance to which the petitioner had applied for the post of Platoon Commander in the Punjab Home Guards and Civil Defence, Government of Punjab.

(2.) IT is the contention of the counsel for the petitioner that the selection procedure, which has been laid down in the advertisement, is that the candidate must obtain a minimum pass marks of 30% for general category and for scheduled caste/backward class and scheduled tribes, the percentage was fixed as 25%. Petitioner has obtained more than the cut off marks in the written test, which was held by the respondents, but vide the public notice dated 03.04.2013 (Annexure P-5), for the category of backward class, to which the petitioner belongs, the cut off percentage has been fixed as 68% for participation in the process of physical measurement/efficiency. This, the counsel for the petitioner contends, is not sustainable.

(3.) WHAT has been provided in the advertisement is the minimum requisite marks which a candidate is required to obtain in the written test to be conducted by the respondents, failing which he would be treated as ineligible for further consideration. Three stages have been prescribed in the selection procedure. First is the written test, which is to be followed by the physical measurement and efficiency test and the last stage is interview. A candidate passing the first two conditions is to be called for the interview. A perusal of the public notice, which is impugned herein, would show that there were large number of applicants, who had cleared the written test as per the minimum prescribed marks and, therefore, shortlisting has been resorted to by the Selection Committee and in that process, eight times the number of candidates than the advertised vacancies in each category have been called for the physical measurement and efficiency test, which is the second stage of the selection process.