BRAJESH KUMAR VILA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition was initially filed on behalf of 10 petitioners. The names of 9 of them were subsequently deleted presumably in view of the stamp report relating to payment of separate Court fees by each of them.

(2.) The dispute in the case relates to appointment of Assistants on the basis of Third Graduate -Level Competitive Examination pursuant to advertisement No. 1/90. The petitioner seeks direction to extend the cut -off date for filling the vacancies. The cut -off date has been fixed by the State Government as 31.12.1993 meaning thereby, that vacancies existing up to 31.12.93, alone had to be filled on the basis of the said competitive examination. The grievance of the petitioner is that though the vacancies were advertised in 1990 itself, the written examination was held only in 1995 and the result thereof published on 16.12.96, the modified result was, in fact, published on 14.1.97; in such a situation treating 31.12.93 as the cut -off date should beheld to be arbitrary. The Court should direct the Government to treat at least, the date of publication of the result, i.e., 14.1.97, or 16.12.96 as the cut -off date.

(3.) At the outset, W may be mentioned that a writ petition, CWJC No. 1376 of 1997 by Hridayal Kumar and Ors., seeking similar direction was dismissed by this Court on 3.12.98. The Court held that in writ jurisdiction, the High Court cannot fix any cut -off date which is to be done by the competent authority. The Court also observed that in the matter of appointment, even persons who have been selected for appointment have no right except when their non -appointment is in contravention of some rule or some person lower in the merit list is appointed. This writ petition thus is covered by the decision in that case.