CWP No.15992 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. CWP No.15992 of 2009 Date of Decision: 29.11.2010 Kulwinder Singh .....Petitioner Vs. Financial Commissioner (Appeals-II),Punjab and others ....Respondents .... CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RAJIVE BHALLA **** Present : Mr. P.S. Dhaliwal, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. B.B.S. Teji, Sr. DAG, Punjab for respondents no.1 to 3. Mr. Vinod Kumar Kaushal, Advocate for respondent no.4. .... RAJIVE BHALLA, J The petitioner prays for issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari for quashing orders dated 28.6.2006 and 4.2.2009, passed by the Collector, District Hoshiarpur and the Financial Commissioner (Appeals-II), Punjab. Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a more meritorious candidate and was, therefore, rightly appointed by the Commissioner. The Financial Commissioner has, on the other hand, reversed the order passed by the Commissioner and restored the choice of the Collector, without assigning any valid reason. It is further submitted that the petitioner scores over respondent no.4 in all aspects and as held by CWP No.15992 of 2009 2 the Commissioner is the better candidate for appointment to the post of scheduled caste Lambardar. It is further argued that the petitioner is an agriculturist, who owns a tractor and as respondent no.4 has failed to produce any evidence of ownership of any property, muchless agricultural land, the Financial Commissioner had no jurisdiction to set aside the order passed by the Commissioner. It is further submitted that respondent no.4 is a resident of Village Neela Naloya and is, therefore, not entitled to appointment as a scheduled caste Lambardar of village Bassi Babu Khan. Counsel for respondent no.4, on the other hand, submits that the petitioner does not belong to a scheduled caste, as he has adopted Christianity as his religion. It is further submitted that ownership of property, whether moveable or immovable, is irrelevant while appointing a scheduled caste Lambardar. The Financial Commissioner rightly reversed the order passed by the Commissioner and restored the appointment of respondent no.4. It is further submitted that the allegation that respondent no.4 does not reside in village Bassi Babu Khan is incorrect, as the identity card Annexure R-1 clearly proves that respondent no.4 is a resident of Village Bassi Babu Khan. I have heard counsel for the parties and perused the impugned orders. Upon demise of the incumbent Lambardar, the Collector invited applications for appointment to the post of scheduled caste Lambardar of village Bassi Babu Khan. After considering the merits of the candidates, the Collector appointed respondent no.4 as the Lambardar. Aggrieved by this order, the petitioner filed an appeal. The Commissioner accepted the appeal in abject disregard to the limits of his jurisdiction as an CWP No.15992 of 2009 3 appellate court and proceeded to reverse the order passed by the Collector by imposing his perception of the better candidate. The Commissioner lost sight of a fundamental principle that governs selection of a Lambardar namely; that the choice of the Collector is final, except where it is palpably perverse, arbitrary, preposterous or contrary to the rules. The Financial Commissioner has rightly rectified the error of jurisdiction and restored the order passed by the Collector. An argument raised by counsel for the petitioner that he owns land and a tractor and respondent no.4 does not own any property, is irrelevant, as ownership of property, whether moveable or immovable is not a qualification for appointment to the post of a scheduled caste Lambardar. Another argument that respondent no.4 is not a resident of village Bassi Babu Khan stands rebutted by the voter identity card issued to respondent no.4 that clearly establishes that respondent no.4 is a resident of village Bassi Babu Khan. In view of what has been stated herein above, as the impugned orders do not suffer from any error of jurisdiction or of law, the writ petition is dismissed with no order as to costs. 29.11.2010 ( RAJIVE BHALLA ) GS JUDGE