NEELAM Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the instructions dated 23.04.1984 (Annexure P-1) and the public notice dated 20.11.2015 (Annexure P-3) wherein, the relaxation has been granted of upper age limit to female candidates who are only widows/divorces upto the age of 42 years. The petitioner is aggrieved being an unmarried lady and prays for inclusion in the said category on account of the fact that she has become over age for applying for the post of Punjabi Mistress as the upper age limit is 37 years as per clause 5 of the advertisement (Annexure P-3).

(2.) A perusal of the letter dated 23.04.1984 issued by the Government would to on to show that certain categories of women have been granted this benefit. The categories are widows and women who are legally separated from their husbands, women who are being given maintenance by Courts, women who have been living separately on account of desertion by their husbands for more than a period of 2 years and women whose husbands have remarried or wives of serving military personnel and those who are disabled while in military service.

(3.) The rationale, thus, is apparently to grant the benefits to a specific category who are having further handicaps and to help them progress in life. This is a policy decision of the State and there is no such absolute legal right of the petitioner to seek a writ of mandamus as such and there is no Statute providing such relaxation on the basis of which, the petitioner can seek a relief.