VARINDER KUMAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment shall dispose of above noticed two writ petitions as common question of law and facts are involved therein. For brevity, facts are being derived from CWP-3210-2016.

(2.) The petitioner, inter alia, seeks issuance of a writ in the nature of Mandamus, directing the respondents to consider the case of the petitioner for appointment to the post of Math/Science Master against the seats reserved for the candidates belonging to the Backward Class (BC) category, as he has qualified the PSTET Paper 2 in the revised result.

(3.) It is contended that the petitioner belongs to Backward Class category and applied for the Teachers Eligibility Test Paper-I and II (PSTET-II) in the years 2013. Vide result sheet dated 19.06.2013 (Annexure P-5), though, he was declared pass in the Paper-I but in the column of Paper-II, his result was shown as NA as he had secured less than 82 marks as against the 83 minimum qualifying marks prescribed. Some similarly placed candidates who had secured 82 marks and were declared 'fail', approached this Court by way of filing various petitions including CWP-4807-2014 titled as Balwinder Kaur Vs. State of Punjab and others. The said writ petition was allowed vide common judgment dated 13.08.2014 (Annexure P-6). Pursuant thereto, the SCERT revised the result of the TET examination held on 09.06.2013 and the petitioner who had 82 marks to his credit, was also declared successful. It is further submitted that vide advertisement dated 09.09.2012 (Annexure P-9), the respondent-department invited applications for filling up of 5078 posts of Rural Associate Teachers in the Master Cadre in various subjects on contract basis on a consolidated pay. In addition to the minimum prescribed educational qualification for the post in question, i.e. Degree from recognized University, a candidate was required to possess B.Ed. degree and TET pass. Though the advertisement was issued in the year 2012, but the process for recruitment started only in the year 2014, when the candidates were called for counselling vide notice dated 20.11.2014.