ARTI KHURANA Vs. STATE OF J&K AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission vide its notice No.46-PSC(DR-P) of 2012 dated 01.08.2012 invited applications from eligible candidates for the post of Lecturer Radio Diagnosis in Government Medical College, Jammu in the Health and Medical Education Department. The petitioner applied under the open category. On conclusion of the selection process, a general merit list was issued in which the name of the petitioner figured at serial No.3. Since the advertised posts were two in the aforesaid discipline, as such, two candidates, namely, Nitin Vermani and Rohit Sharma came to be selected in open merit category. Consequently, the appointments in their favour were issued and both the candidates aforesaid joined. The petitioner being at serial No.3 of the merit panel was placed at serial No.1 of the wait-list.

(2.) The grouse of the petitioner, as projected in this petition, is that, though, the wait-list was still valid and the vacancy had arisen due to resignation of Dr. Nitin Vermani, yet the respondents did not appoint the petitioner. The petitioner approached this Court by way of SWP No.2698/2013 which was disposed of by this Court on 106.2014 directing the respondents to consider the case of the petitioner. In compliance to the direction issued by this Court, claim of the petitioner was considered and rejected by respondent No.4 vide order dated 16.02015 declaring that the claim of the petitioner was not sustainable in view of Rule 57 of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commissioner (Business and Procedure) Rules, 1980. It is also submitted that in similar set of circumstances respondent No.1 had operated the wait-list by supplying vacancy arisen due to resignation of a selected/appointed candidate.

(3.) Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record, I find that the only question which needs determination in this case is, "whether the vacancy arisen on account of resignation of a selected/appointed candidate can be supplied by operating the wait-list, particularly when the vacancy had arisen during the life of the wait-list"?