KARANBIR SINGH DEYEA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner through instant petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India is seeking setting aside of provisional merit list dtd. 25/5/2023 for the post of Sub-Inspector in the Technical and Support Services Cadre qua Open Source Intelligence ( 'OSINT ') specialization advertised vide advertisement No.7 of 2021 dtd. 9/9/2021.

(2.) The State of Punjab vide Advertisement No.07 of 2021 dtd. 9/9/2021 invited applications for 267 posts of Sub-Inspectors (Group C) in Technical and Support Services Cadre. In the advertisement, four domains were specified which were sub-divided into three groups and an applicant could apply for maximum one domain and three specializations/functions. The petitioner applied in the specialization of OSINT Analysis in Group-1. Pursuant to recruitment process having been conducted, result was declared on 25/5/2023, however, name of the petitioner did not figure in the list of successful candidates.

(3.) Learned Senior counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner pursuant to Advertisement No.7 of 2021 dtd. 9/9/2021 applied for the post of Sub-Inspector under Reserved Category i.e. SC (R&O). He applied against Information Technology Domain and OSINT specialization. He scored 68.142 marks. There were 15 posts under aforesaid specialization. The respondent has recruited 14 Ex-Servicemen candidates. One seat is still lying vacant. He has been denied post on the ground that he did not possess certificate of minimum one year diploma/course in OSINT/related platform. The petitioner is having diploma in computer applications. Lovely Professional University ( 'LPU ') vide communication dtd. 6/12/2022 has confirmed that diploma possessed by the petitioner is equal to OSINT specialization. It has further certified that diploma in computer applications of LPU-Distance Education can be considered to be mapped with the corresponding programmes under OSINT Analysis domain. The last selected candidate under OSINT Analysis domain had secured 22.03 marks whereas petitioner 's marks are 68.142. The mechanism of inter-domain and specialization utilization of post was not disclosed in the advertisement.