Civil Writ Petition No. 10022 of 2010 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition No. 10022 of 2010 Date of decision:- 29.8.2011 Manjit Singh and others ...Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE RITU BAHRI Present:- Mr. K.L. Arora, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. Ram Lal Gupta, Addl.A.G. Punjab. RITU BAHRI J. Petitioners are seeking writ of certiorari mandamus for directing the respondents to consider the candidature of the petitioners for the post of Junior Engineer (Civil) without raising objection of 'Age Bar'. Vide advertisement dated 04.12.2009 (Annexure P-1) PWD Public Health Department invited/advertised various posts of Junior Engineers and Junior Draftsman. The petitioner applied against the post of Junior Engineer. All the petitioners applied for the said post of Junior Engineer (Civil). They have worked for the last 16-20 years on muster roll. The petitioners were called for written test after giving them admit cards on 28.3.2010. The result was declared on 31.3.2010 on internet (Annexure P-5). The result of the petitioners is as under :- Sr. No. Name Father's Name Roll Number Date of Birth Marks Obtained 1 Manjit Singh Sh. Kartar Singh 80000499 27/11/67 48 Civil Writ Petition No. 10022 of 2010 -2- Sr. No. Name Father's Name Roll Number Date of Birth Marks Obtained 2 Yunas Masih Sh. Lall Masih 80000979 10/05/65 46 3 Manjit Kumar Sh. Parshan Singh 80000292 17/12/66 43 The petitioners appeared for councelling on 17.5.2010 in the office of Chief Engineer (Central), Water Supply & Sanitation Department, The Mall, Patiala. The objection was raised by the Chairman-cum-Superintendent Engineer that the petitioners were over aged and their applications were not sent for the post of Junior Engineers (Civil). Mr. K.L. Arora, counsel for the petitioners has vehemently argued that as per the advertisement relaxation in age was permissible. The upper age limit shall be 45 years in respect of persons already served in Government of Punjab or any other Government. All the petitioners are serving in Punjab Government since 1992, 1994 and 1989 respectively. Hence, they are entitled to the benefit of age relaxation as contemplated in the advertisement. On the other hand in the reply filed by counsel for the State, Mr. Ram Lal Gupta, Addl.A.G. Punjab has vehemently argued that as per the written statement the marks secured by the petitioners and as per the marks secured by the last selected candidates in their categories, they do not become eligible for the appointment. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the case file carefully. As far as petitioner Manjit Singh is concerned, he has secured 48 marks and his position is at Serial No.114 in the General Category. The last candidate in this category has obtained 57 marks and was at Serial No.28. Even if the petitioner Manjit Singh is given the benefit of relaxation, then also he is not entitled as per the position in the merit list. On the other hand petitioner Yunas Masih has got 46 marks and was at Serial No.17 in BC Category. The last candidate in this category has got 48 marks and was at Serial No.11. Petitioner Civil Writ Petition No. 10022 of 2010 -3- No.3-Manjit Kumar has obtained 43 marks and was at Serial No.31 in SC (R & O) Category whereas the last candidate selected in this category has obtained 51 marks and was at Serial No.9. As far as petitioner Manjit Kumar is concerned, argument was raised that he should have been considered against the Scheduled Castes (M & B) Category. His original application form was filed with the Scheduled Caste Certificate but he has been wrongly considered against Scheduled Caste (R & O) Category. Referring to Annexure P-8 i.e. the merit list, it has been pointed out by counsel for the petitioners that in the Scheduled Caste (M & B) Category the last candidate has got 41 marks and petitioner-Manjit Kumar has got 43 marks and thus he is eligible for the appointment. After going through the original form submitted by petitioner Manjit Kumar even though he has filed his application under the category of Scheduled Castes (M & B) Ex- Servicemen Dependent and the attached certificate pertains to Adharmi Caste. This Caste does not fall in the category of (M & B), therefore, he is rightly considered under Scheduled Caste (R & O). Moreover, he did not produce any proof of being dependent of ex-servicemen. All the petitioners could not make a mark in the merit list. The writ petition is dismissed. 29.8.2011 ( RITU BAHRI ) Vijay Asija JUDGE