PARAMJIT SINGH Vs. SHARWAN KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of three Letters Patent Appeal Nos. 1425 of 1988 and 10 and 50 of 1989 against the judgment of the learned Single Judge disposing of CWP Nos. 9783 and 9814 of 1988 filed by Sharwan Kumar and Rameshwar, respectively. Since identical questions of fact and law are involved in the appeals, which are in the nature of cross appeals, common judgment has been considered more appropriate to dispose of the same.

(2.) The Haryana Subordinate Services Selection Board advertised four posts of Forest Rangers (Stipendiary) vide advertisement No. 4 of 11th September, 1988. All the four posts are reserved for the members of the Scheduled Castes provided, of course, if suitable candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes were not available then the posts could be filled by selecting candidates out of the general category. After undergoing the necessary procedural formalities for the purposes of selection, three persons were selected for the posts, namely, Paramjit, Om Prakash and Jai Kumar. Incidentally, all the selected candidates belonged to the 'general category' and none of them was a member of the Scheduled Castes. Their selection was challenged by Sharwan Kumar and Rameshwar on the ground that according to the instructions issued by the State of Haryana on 30th July, 1986 (Annexure P-6 with the writ petition), the posts being of non-technical nature, if suitable candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes as well as of backward classes were not available, the posts should have been advertised afresh for the third time instead of filling the same by selecting candidates belonging to general category. The petitioners had further claimed that in any case if the Scheduled Caste candidates were not found suitable for selection against the posts reserved for them, the vacancies could have been filled from amongst candidates belonging to backward classes instead of the general category candidates. Therefore, according to petitioners, the selection of all the candidates belonging to the general category was bad in law and by setting aside their selection, candidates belonging to backward classes alone should be selected.

(3.) However, the State of Haryana contested the claim of the petitioners and pleaded in their written statement that the instructions dated 30th July, 1986, applied only to non-technical posts whereas the posts in question, that is, of Forest Rangers were of technical nature. The respondent had further pleaded that the reservation policy in regard to technical posts continued to be governed by the original instructions issued by the State Government on 9th February, 1979, according to which if the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste were not available even in response to the second advertisement, the posts should be filled from the general category candidates.