SWATI SWARNIM Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We have heard Mr. Bipin Chandra for the petitioner, Mr. Sanjay Pandey for the Bihar Public Service Commission, Mr. Piyush Lall, for the High Court and Mr. Gyan Prakash Ojha, for the State.

(2.) The petitioner having obtained L.L.B. degree from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University in the year 2014, got enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Bihar. In response to the Advertisement No. 4 of 2020 for selection/appointment to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) by the Bihar Public Service Commission, the petitioner submitted her application. It is the case of the petitioner that she belongs to Extremely Backward Class (Female) Category, and had appeared in the Preliminary Examination of 31st Services Examination. Having been found successful in the said Preliminary Examination, she appeared in the Written Examination (Mains) and was declared successful, whereupon she was called for interview. However, when the final merit list was published by the Bihar Public Service Commission, she was disqualified in the interview along with others, who had failed to secure the minimum qualifying marks.

(3.) Being aggrieved, the petitioner approached this Court, seeking a direction upon the respondents to consider her candidature for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) and recommend her name for the said post as she has been illegally left out in the final result dtd. 10/10/2022. The petitioner further seeks quashing of the second proviso to Rule 15(c) of the Bihar Civil Service (Judicial Branch) (Recruitment) Rules, 1955 read with Notification No. 7/Ashta-1/4/4/2011GAD/16645 dtd. 3/12/2014 to the extent of fixing a cut-off marks of 35% in viva-voce examination and also for quashing the aforenoted advertisement, more particularly condition no. 4(c) by holding it as ultra vires of Article 14 to the Constitution of India.