SANTOSH KUMAR SHARMA Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner passed his B.A. Examination from Rohilkhand University, Bareilly in the year 1985 in the second division. He then obtained his M.A. degree in Geography in the year 1987 once again securing a second division and also passed his B.Ed. examination from the said University in the year 1988 in the third division. The petitioner also got employment as Master in the Sanjay Gandhi Junior High School, Beodhan Khurd (Bareilly) in July, 1988. The State of Haryana advertised 269 posts of S.S. Masters for government schools vide advertisement dated 29th July, 1991 (Annexure P.1). In pursuance of the said advertisement the petitioner applied for the post in question and also appended an experience certificate issued by the Head Master of the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Junior High School, Beodhan Khurd. The petitioner also appeared for the interview in the office of respondent No. 2 in August, 1991. The petitioner was, however, not selected for the post in question. This selection was, however, quashed by this Court by its judgment dated 7th February, 1992. Aggrieved by the decision aforesaid, some of the selected candidates and the respondent-State Government filed S.L.Ps. in the Hon'ble Supreme Court and in accordance with its decision, the State Government again issued an advertisement dated November 6, 1992 (Annexure P.2) calling the earlier applicants to appear for a fresh interview. The petitioner appeared before the selection committee on 18th November, 1992 and also submitted an attested copy of his experience certificate (Annexure P.3). The petitioner was, however, not selected even in the fresh selection. The primary grievance of the petitioner is that the selection committee did not take into account the experience certificate that had been issued to him and that had he been given 10 marks for the experience that he had obtained in the Sanjay Khurd Memorial Junior High School, Beodhan Khurd from 27.12.1988 to 10.8.1991 he would have been ranked higher in the merit list and duly selected.

(2.) Notice of motion was issued in this case and at the time of the motion hearing this court had directed that the original application form along with enclosures should be placed for the examination of this Court. Despite having been taken a number of adjournments the respondent-State did not produce the form and Mr. Bhinder, the learned District Attorney, Haryana made a statement on 24th March, 1995 that it was not traceable. A reply has also been filed by the respondent-State to the averments made in the writ petition and two-fold stand has been taken firstly that the experience certificate had not been appended with the application form and, as such, it could not be taken into account and secondly that petitioner even otherwise was not eligible as he had not taken English as a subject at the B.A. level.

(3.) Mr. Ravi Verma, the learned counsel for the petitioner, has argued that the experience certificate (Annexure P.3) had been appended with the application form and the fact that the respondents had not cared to produce the same in court and pleaded that it was not traceable, cast a doubt on the respondents case. He has also urged that from the application form itself and from the other enclosures it was apparent that the petitioner had taken English as one of the subjects in B.A. but even otherwise the case of the petitioner was liable to be considered as he possessed as M.A. degree in Geography from a recognised University and that this stand of the respondents too was untenable.