UNION TERRITORY OF J&K Vs. PANKAJ JASROTIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Before we proceed to adjudicate these intra-court appeals, it is apposite to observe that while consistency in judicial decisions constitutes the bedrock of any legal system, parallelly, consistency in State action is indispensable, serving to guarantee fairness, non-arbitrariness, and predictability in governance. Action by the State which fails to exhibit uniformity across similar circumstances shall be deemed vitiated and bad in law on the ground of discrimination.

(2.) The subject matter of all these intra-court appeals is the judgment dtd. 31/8/2007, whereby the writ petitions preferred by the private respondents were allowed, and the proforma respondent-J&K Service Selection Board (for short 'the J&K SSB') was directed to treat the aforesaid respondents as eligible for the post of Dental Assistants and consider for selection and appointment strictly in accordance with the merit obtained by them in the selection process initiated pursuant to Advertisement Notice No. 10 of 2013 dtd. 10/10/2023.

(3.) The facts relevant for disposal of these appeals are extracted from the lead case, LPA No. 31/2023, titled, 'U. T of J&K vs. Pankaj Jasrotia and others'. An Advertisement Notice (supra) came to be issued by the J&K SSB for conducting the selection of Dental Assistant/Junior Dental Technician for the Health and Medical Education Department. Upon conclusion of selection process, J&K SSB forwarded the select list to the Director, Health Services, Jammu for issuance of formal appointment orders in favour of the selected candidates. The private respondents were not considered by the J&K SSB on the premise of not being in possession of requisite qualification prescribed in the said notification, as they were holding Diploma in Dental Hygienist Training Course.