TMI Blog1991 (11) TMI 267X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t pages 23 and 24 of the Prospectus) reads as follows: Sons/Daughters/Spouses of Military/Paramilitary Personnel etc.: 3 The Admission of the candidates against the reserved seats under this category will be made on the basis of merit list prepared according to the priorities given below in the descending order:- 1. Sons/Daughters/Spouses of defence personnel who are awardees of gallantry decorations of Paramvir/Mahavir/Vir Chakra in person or posthumously. OR Sons/daughters/spouses of defence personnel and para-military personnel like CRPF, BSF etc. who are killed or are total incapacitated in action while in service and were wholly dependent on them. 2. Sons/daughters/spouses of defence personnel and para-military personnel like CRPF/BSF etc. who die while in service and were wholly dependent on them; 3. Sons/daughters/spouses of defence personnel and para-military personnel like CRPF/BSF incapacitated while in service and were wholly dependent on them; 4. Sons/daughters/spouses of exservicemen (military and para-military personnel like CRPF/BSF who are wholly dependent on them; 5. Sons/d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6/91: The first respondent in the S.L.P. applied for admission to Punjab Engineering College under this quota. He appeared in the common Entrance Test along with other applicants. The College Authorities considered his case placing him in category 4 since his father was an Ex-serviceman. He could not, however, be given the admission because the 15 seats reserved for children and spouses of Military/Para Military Personnel in this College were allocated in the following manner: a. There were three candidates falling in category 1 (i.e., children of Defence Personnel who are awardees of gallantry decoration, Paramvir Chakra/Mahavir Chakra, in person or posthumously). All the three were given admission. b. There were 5 candidates falling in category 2. They were admitted. c. Only one candidate falling in category 3 appeared and was given the seat; d. There were 90 candidates failing in category 4. But only 6 seats were available (nine seats having been taken away by subcategories a to c). These six seats were allotted on the basis of inter-se merit among the candidates failing in this category. The first respondent being at a fairly lower position in this ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... andidature of the petitioner is neither legally correct nor just and fair. However, as respondent Nos.3 and 4 who are lower in academic merit than the petitioner, happen to be the sons of the awardees of Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra respectively, it would be unfair if the admission already granted to them by the Chandigarh Administration and the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, is set aside. Resultantly, we allow this petition and issue a direction to respondent Nos. 1 and 2 to admit the petitioner against the category of sons/daughters of awardees of gallantry decorations, without disturbing the admission of respondents Nos.3 and 4. In case no such seat is available for the petitioner, the respondents shall create a seat for the purpose forthwith. This shall also be deemed to be a direction to the Punjab University for according necessary approval for the creation of the additional seat. There shall be no order as to costs. The decision of the High Court was rendered on 28th August, 1991. The present S.L.P. was filed in this court on 7th October, 1991. In fact, it appears that having waited for one month and not having been admitted in the college in pursuance ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... provided would be achieved if the sons, daughters and spouses of serving Defence personnel are placed at sub-category No.4 i.e. above the category of Exservicemen. This conclusion has been arrived at by us after considering the circumstances that the wards and spouses of serving Defence personnel are at a disadvantage in the absence of their guardians serving at far off/distant places defending the country vis-a-vis who have retired from the military and are now living with their wards. Keeping these considerations in view, we dispose of this writ petition by issuing a direction to the respondent Union Territory Chandigarh and Principal, Punjab Engineering College, to go ahead with the admission of this reserved category. Therefore, so far as such categories 1,2 and 3 are concerned, there shall not be any change. However, we direct that so far as sub-category No.4 is concerned, persons covered in this shall be considered at No. 5 and those covered in sub-category 5 are concerned, shall be considered at No. 4. The admission, which are going to be finalised tomorrow, shall not be made in accordance with these directions. A copy of the order be supplied Dasti also to the learned coun ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y nor can it re-write the rules. If the rule or any portion of it was found to be bad, the High Court could have struck it down and directed the rule-making authority to re-frame the rule and make admissions on that basis but the High Court could not have either switched the categories or directed that Shaurya Chakra should be treated as equivalent to Vir Chakra By its directions, the High Court has completely upset the course of admissions under this reserved quota and has gravely affected the chances of candidates failing in category 4 by down-grading them as category 5 without even hearing them. These are good reasons for the categorisation done by the Administration which was adopted by the College. He submitted that while Paramvir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra and Vir Chakra are awarded for gallantry in war, Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra are awarded for gallantry otherwise than in war. Shaurya Chakra was awarded to the father of the first respondent in SLP.No. 16066 of 1991 for his gallant conduct in counter-insurgency operations in Mizo Hills. It was not a war. He placed, before us, the true extract of order of precedence of awardees. It reads thus: TRUE E ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Assuming that it was so questioned and assuming that the High Court was satisfied that the rule was discriminatory and bad for the reason of not including Ashok Chakra etc., the only course open to it was to strike down the offending rule. It could also have directed the authorities to reframe the rule and to make admissiions accordingly. High Court however did not choose to do so. It merely directed that since Shaurya Chakra is immediately below Vir Chakra in the order of precedence and since respondents 3 and 4 in the writ petition admitted under sub-category I have obtained lesser marks than the writ petitioner, he should be given admission without disturbing the admission given to respondents 2 and 3 in that writ petition. The entire reasoning of the High Court has been extracted by us herein above. It shows that absolutely no reason is assigned for granting the said direction. All that it says is that since Shaurya Chakra is also awardable for gallantry and is placed immediately below Vir Chakra, the writ petitioner should be granted admission. If really the High Court was of the opinion that Shaurya Chakra is equivalent to Vir Chakra and should be treated on the same par as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rt should not have indulged in the exercise of 'switching' the categories, and that too without giving any reasons thereafter. Thereby. it has practicably assumed the rule of rulemaking authority, or. at any rate, assumed the role of an Appellate Authority. That is clearly not the function of the High Court acting under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Now, let us notice the implications and consequences of the said 'switching'. By directing that category 4 should be treated as category 5 and conversely category 5 should be treated as category 4, the High Court has prejudicially affected the rights of candidates falling under category 4 without even hearing them. It must be remembered that these categories are mentioned in the order of priority as emphasised hereinbefore. A rulemaking authority need not observe the rule of hearing, but the High Court exercising its judicial power cannot dispense with the requirement and that is precisely the grievance of the petitioner in S.L.P. 16451/91 arising from V.W.P. 14606 of 1991. He was entitled to be considered under category 4 (as per the prospectus) whereas by virtue of the High Court's order his ca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Though we are satisfied that the orders and directions made by the High Court are totally unsupportable in law, the subsequent developments dissuade us from allowing these SLPs. As stated above, the three respondents-writ-petitioners (first respondent in SLP. 16066/91 and respondents I and 2 in SLP. 16065/91) have been admitted into this college (Punjab Engineering College) on 28th October, 1991, whereupon they have given up the seats which they had obtained in other colleges. This statement of theirs is not disputed either by the Chandigarh Administration or the college authorities. Depriving the said respondents of their admission in this college at this stage would result in grave and irreparable prejudice to them. We think that the Administration and College authorities ought to have acted with more alacrity and approached this Court earlier than they did. By the time, these SLPs were taken up by us and stay granted, the said respondents were already admitted into the College and, they say, they had given up their seats in the other colleges. On this score alone, we decline to interfere with the orders in C.W .P. 12644/91 and 12485/91. Now coming to SLP 16451 of 1991, the situ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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