(1) wp6385-11 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 6385 OF 2011 Kumar Rangnath Kamble PETITIONER VERSUS The State of Maharashtra & others RESPONDENTS ..... Mr. Anandsing Bayas, advocate for the Petitioner. Mr. S.V. Kurundkar, Govt. Pleader for the Respondent-State. ..... CORAM : B.R. GAVAI AND M.T. JOSHI, JJ. DATED : 11th OCTOBER, 2011 ORAL ORDER: 1. By way of present petition, the petitioner has prayed for issuance of directions to the respondents to issue an order of appointment to the petitioner in the category of Class-IV from the seat reserved for nominee of the Freedom Fighter 2. The petition has been filed basically with a grievance that the order dated 29th March, 2006, passed by the learned Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal in Original Application No. 621/2005, has not been complied with by the respondents. This Court had issued notice on 30th August, 2011 and the (2) wp6385-11 Respondent No. 2 - Collector, Osmanabad was directed to remain personally present before this Court on the next date, if the order of the learned Tribunal was not complied with before the returnable date. On 23rd September, 2011, the matter (Civil Application No. 10961/2011) was mentioned on the ground that the Collector, Osmanabad was busy at Tuljapur on account of Navaratri festival and would not be in a position to attend the Court. This Court, observing that the presence of the Collector, Osmanabad was necessary only if the order of the learned Tribunal was not complied with, granted exemption from his appearance till 10th October, 2011. In pursuance to the order dated 23rd September, 2011, the matter is listed today. 3. An affidavit-in-reply has been filed by Dr. Praveen Gedam, who is presently working as Collector, Osmanabad. 4. The learned Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, in the order dated 29th March, 2006 passed in Original Application No. 621/2005, has observed thus : (3) wp6385-11 "We accordingly dispose of the present petition by directing the Collector, Osmanabad to sponsor the name of the petitioner strictly as per his turn and seniority whenever requisitions are received for any post suited to the qualifications possessed by the petitioner within the quota/preference meant for the Nominees of Freedom Fighters. Needless to state that it is open for the applicant to apply in response to any advertisement as from the quota/preference meant for nominee of freedom fighter's category. If he offers his candidature in response to any advertisement the appropriate authority is bound to permit him to participate in the selection process subject to his satisfying the requirements stipulated in the advertisement including the upper age-limit (with permissible age-relaxation). Further action, in either event, would, of course, depend upon his performance at the competitive selection process." 5. It is thus clear that the Collector, Osmanabad was required to sponsor the name of the petitioner strictly as per his turn and seniority whenever the requisitions are received for any post (4) wp6385-11 suited to the qualifications possessed by the petitioner within the quota/preference meant for the nominees of Freedom Fighters. A categorical statement has been made in the affidavit-in-reply that no such requisition has been received in the office of the Collector, Osmanabad. In that view of the matter, the grievance of the petitioner insofar as the Collector, Osmanabad is concerned, is without any substance. 6. It is further pertinent to be noted that as regards the category of nominee of the Freedom Fighter is concerned, there is no reservation for such category, but what is provided is only "preference" to the nominee of the Freedom Fighter. In any case, the learned Tribunal itself has granted liberty to the petitioner to apply in response to any advertisement from the quota/preference meant for category of Nominee of Freedom Fighter. The petitioner could have very well applied from the said category, if any advertisement so provided and in that event, the concerned Authority issuing such advertisement, was bound to consider the case of the (5) wp6385-11 petitioner in the light of various Government Resolutions. 7. Insofar as the petitioner's grievance regarding maintenance of seniority list of Nominees of Freedom Fighters is concerned, the Collector, Osmanabad, who is personally present in the Court today, states that such a Register is maintained wherein the petitioner's name is at Serial No. 218. In that view of the matter, the grievance of the petitioner in that respect is without any substance. 8. Thus, considering all the above aspects of the matter, the petition is found without any substance. Hence, the petition is rejected, with no order as to costs. [M.T. JOSHI, J.] [B.R. GAVAI, J.] npj/wp6385-11