NARENDER KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who belongs to Scheduled Caste and who was a candidate for recruitment to the post of Forest Ranger has Filed this petition with the prayer to quash the selection and appointment of respondents No. 5 to 8.

(2.) From the record produced before it, it is revealed that the Subordinate Services Selection Board, Haryana (for short, the respondent-Board) advertised 7 posts of Forest Rangers (Stipendiary) for two-years Course at Haldwani. All the posts were reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes of Haryana. The candidates belonging to the general category and Ex- Servicemen/dependents of the Ex-Servicemen could also apply but their candidature could be considered only in the event of non- availability of suitable Scheduled Castes candidates. In the written test held by the respondent-Board, the petitioner secured 206 marks out of a total of 600. The averments made in para 2 of the reply to the writ petition shows that the petitioner failed to secure 25% marks in the papers of General Knowledge and Botany. Three candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes who secure more than 35% marks in the written test were treated eligible to be called for interview. Some of the candidates belonging to the general castes and the category of Ex-Servicemen/dependents of Ex-Servicemen also passed the written examination. The respondent-Board interviewed those candidates who qualified the written test and recommended the names of seven persons (3 belonging to general category, one dependent of Ex- Servicemen and three belonging to Scheduled Castes) for appointment as Forest Rangers.

(3.) The petitioner has challenged the selection of respondent No. 5 to 8 mainly on the ground that in view of the ban imposed by the Government against the de-reservation of the vacancies reserved for Scheduled Castes, the respondent-Board had no jurisdiction to recommend names of candidates of general category and dependent of Ex-Servicemen because all the posts were shown as reserved for Scheduled Castes. The petitioners contention is that even if requisite number of candidates of Scheduled Castes were not available, the respondent-Board should have left the posts unfilled and it should not have recommended names of general category candidates/dependent of Ex-Servicemen for appointment as Forest Rangers.