RAJINDER KUMAR Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through the medium of this petition, the petitioners are seeking quashing of Government Order No.158-Rev of 2016 dated 09.11.2016 issued by Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, respondent No.1 herein, whereby the case of petitioners for their appointment as Naib Tehsildar has been rejected. The petitioners are also seeking a direction to the respondents to appoint them as Naib Tehsildar in due deference to judgment dated 11.04.2016 passed in SWP No.1809/2009 read with judgment dated 19.08.2015 in SWP No.1941/2009 along with connected matters.

(2.) The facts-in-brief, as projected in the petition, are that the petitioners were holding basic eligibility, i.e., Graduation having passed Matriculation with Urdu as one of the subjects when the J &K Service Selection Board issued Advertisement Notice No.01 of 2002 dated 26.04.2002, whereby 52 posts of Naib Tehsildars were advertised. The petitioners along with other eligible candidates applied in pursuance to the said notice. Before the process of selection could be initiated, again 39 posts of Naib Tehsildars came to be advertised vide Notification No.09 of 2005 dated 14.12.2005 and, thereafter, 20 more posts of Naib Tehsildars came to be advertised vide Notification No.04 of 2008 dated 26.05.2008. Thus, in all 111 posts of Naib Tehsildars came to be advertised with effect from 26.04.2002 to 26.05.2008. Thereafter, the candidates including the petitioners herein, who had applied in pursuance to these three advertisement notices, were subjected to written test, which was conducted in the year 2009, result whereof was declared vide notification dated 21.07.2009, in which 783 candidates were declared to have qualified the written test and were called for interview.

(3.) It is averred that the petitioners challenged notification dated 21.07.2009 through the medium of SWP No.1299/2009 on the ground that the Service Selection Board while declaring the result did not comply with the provisions of Rule 13(2) of SRO 194 of 1992 because the Board had fixed same merit for all the three advertisements. This Court vide order dated 13.08.2009 in SWP No.1299/2009 directed the Board to conduct the interview of petitioners. Thereafter, during the pendency of said writ petition, the Board issued the select list on 08.09.2009 in which as many as 111 candidates were selected against the post of Naib Tehsildar, but the petitioners could not be selected. Compelled by the circumstances, the petitioners withdrew SWP No.1299/2009 and filed SWP No.1809/2009 thereby challenging the select list and sought a direction to the respondents to consider them against the said post.