JAGMOHAN KAUR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of Civil Writ Petition No. 5659 of 1987 and Civil Writ Petition No. 589 of 1988. The facts have been extracted from CWP No. 589 of 1988.

(2.) The Petitioner has approached this Court under Articles 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari and mandamus for quashing the selection and consequential appointment to the posts of Vaidyas made by order dated June 4, 1987 (Annexure P-3) and to declare the procedure adopted by the Departmental Selection Committee illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional, as also a direction to Respondents No. 1 to 3 to consider and select the petitioner for the post of Vaidya.

(3.) The petitioner passed B.A.M.S. (Ayurvedacharya) examination from Punjabi University Patiala in the first division. An advertisement was issued by the Directorate of Ayurveda, Punjab, Chandigarh wherein 14 posts of Vaidyas were advertised on September 7, 1986. The petitioner as well as another 500 odd candidates applied in response to the advertisement and they were interviewed on different dates between November 22, 1986 to November 25, 1986. The Departmental Selection Committee was headed by the Director, Health Services, Punjab, who has been impleaded in his official capacity as respondent No. 3 whereas some of the members of the selection committee have been impleaded in person as respondents No. 4 to 7. According to the Petitioner, the interview was a mere farce as no questions were asked by the members of the selection committee; that no criteria was laid down by the selection committee for allocation of marks of the candidates; that the selection was based upon 100% marks in interview without any weightage given to the academic qualifications and that 21 candidates were selected against 14 advertised posts and all of them have been given appointment in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.