AFAQ MIRZA Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, who had applied for Selection against the posts of Foresters and Forest Protection Force Inspectors, advertised vide Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board, Jammu s Notice No. 08 of 2010 dated 24.12.2010, seek quashing of the Selection Criteria fixed by the Board, besides directions to the Board for holding Selection following the Criteria adopted by it in earlier Selections for similar posts.

(2.) Their case, in a nut-shell, is that the Criteria fixed by the Board without the approval of the General Administration Department of the State Government, was in violation of the Jammu and Kashmir (Subordinate) Services Recruitment Rules, 1992, besides being arbitrary and irrational for ignoring the Superior Merit of the candidates possessing higher and Specialized Qualification in Forestry and instead giving higher weightage of the Qualification Prescribed by Rules governing the Service.

(3.) The Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board, hereinafter, the Board , for short, justifies the Selection Criteria urging that in giving higher weightage to the candidates possessing Minimum Qualification prescribed under Rules governing the Service, due care was taken by the Board in allocating requisite points for Qualifications higher than those prescribed in the Recruitment Rules, as also to the Specialized Qualification and Training in Forestry.