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2022 (8) TMI 1447 - SC - Indian LawsCancellation of appointments - result of the main examination dated 21st April, 2020 of the 6th Combined Civil Services Examination, 2016 - minimum marks for qualification - HELD THAT:- The main examination is comprising of 6 papers, total marks would be 1050 and candidate has to appear in all the papers of the main examination. This could be one construction that qualifying marks in paper-I is 30% but in other subject papers, it may be 40% or as fixed for the respective category and whether it has to be aggregate or qualifying marks in each paper is indeed not clear and ambiguity is there in the conditions of advertisement, of which a detailed reference has been made. At this stage, we take assistance of Rule 16 of the scheme of Rules, 1951 read with the proviso which gives a different indication. This Court in N. SURESH NATHAN VERSUS U.O.I. [1991 (11) TMI 257 - SUPREME COURT] while examining the recruitment rules for Assistant Engineers in the Public Works Department and taking into consideration the procedure which has been followed by the department for sufficiently long time observed that the construction of the scheme of rules which is in consonance with long standing practice prevailing in the concerned department is untenable to require upsetting it and if the past practice is based on one of the possible constructions which can be made of the rules upsetting the same could not be appropriate. In the instant case, the view which has been adopted by the Commission and that has been considered and held by the High Court in the impugned judgment may be better circumscribed but both are equally possible views and either of the one could not be ruled out or outrightly negated. In the given situation, when one possible view has been acted upon by the Commission and pursuant to which the recommendations were made and after approval of the State Government, candidates have been appointed and are working for almost 2 years by this time, it will be unjust for this Court to now permit the Government to take a U-Turn in compliance of the impugned judgment, and nonsuit the candidates who are working for sufficiently long time. It is well known that punctuation marks by themselves do not control the meaning of the statute when its meaning is otherwise obvious. The ordinary rule is that punctuation mark is a minor element in the interpretation of statute, more so, when it is a case of subordinate legislation. On going through the scheme of the Rules 1951, proviso to Rule 16 has to be read in conjunction to both Clause (a) and (b) and not to clause (b) in particular as being observed by the High Court in the impugned judgment. The impugned judgment of the High Court dated 23rd February, 2022 is hereby quashed and set aside - appeal allowed.
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