KULWANT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DIRECTOR , Agriculture, Punjab, issued an advertisement published in the Daily Tribune dated 30. 1. 1993, whereby applications for recruitment to the posts of Steno Typists and Junior Scale Stenographers were invited. The requisite qualifications of the candidates including age etc. were mentioned in that advertisement, Eight posts of Steno Typists were advertised out of which one was reserved for Ex-serviceman. Petitioner applied for the job, of Steno Typist being qualified and as Ex-serviceman being dependent on Ex-serviceman. A written test has held which the petitioner successfully qualified. Petitioner was called for interview but was not selected. In fact, no candidate of Ex-serviceman category was available. Present petition has been filed seeking a direction to the respondents to appoint the petitioner as Steno Typist in response to the advertisement, being duly qualified and as a dependent upon Ex serviceman. The case of the petitioner is that if Ex-Serviceman is not available then dependent of Ex-serviceman has to be appointed as per rules.

(2.) NOTICE of motion was issued, in the written statement filed, the stand taken by the State respondents is that petitioner was above 28 years of age at the time of interview and held a fertilizer licence issued by the Chief Agriculture Officer and carrying on his independent business and, therefore, not dependent on Ex serviceman, and thus not entitled to get the job applied for as dependent upon Ex serviceman.

(3.) STATE of Punjab in exercise of Us powers conferred by the proviso of Article 309 read with Articles 234 and 368 of the Constitution of India has framed rules known as the Punjab Recruitment of Ex-servicemen, Rules 1982 "dependent child" has been defined under clause 2 (aa) of the said rules which reads as under : " (aa) dependent child means a son or an unmarried daughter of an Ex serviceman who is wholly dependent on him and is residing with him, or in the case of death of an Ex serviceman, means his son or unmarried daughter who was wholly dependent on him and was residing with him before his death, and to whom a certificate to that effect has been issued by the authority appointed by the Government," The word dependent in the Concise Oxford Dictionary means "one who depends on another for support". In the writ petition, it has not been asserted that petitioner is wholly dependent on the Ex serviceman and is residing with him. In the absence of this averment, it cannot be held that petitioner was dependent upon an Ex serviceman. Moreover petitioner is 28 years of age and has independent business and thus cannot be held to be dependent upon an Ex serviceman and as such rightly excluded by the respondents from that category.