TMI Blog2000 (5) TMI 1041X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No.6750/1999, C.A. No. 6751/1999, C.A. No. 6752/1999, C.A. No. 6753/1999 C.W.P. No.356/1999 filed in this Court. Vide advertisement dated 12.1.1996, the Departmental Selection Committee (Teaching), Education Department, Punjab invited applications for appointment of 3025 teachers. The relevant part of the notification is extracted and reproduced hereunder :- xx xx xx 1. Applications on prescribed form given below are invited for various categories of teachers. Applications must be reached on or before dated 15.02.1996. xx xx xx xx Sr.No. 1. Masters/Mistresses (S.S. Allied) Total number of posts : 3025 Pay Scale : 1640-2925 Subject Subject Code Number of posts i) Social Studies 0201 3000 ii) Fine Arts 0203 10 iii) Music 0204 10 iv) Home Science 0205 05 Total 3025 Educational Qualification : i) For Social Studies Masters/Mistresses : B.A./B.Ed. with the combination of two subjects out of the following seven subjects History Economics Political Science Geography Public Administration Psychology Sociology with relevant teaching subject in B.Ed. ii) For Fine Arts Masters/Mistresses : ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 15.2.1996. On 17.3.1997 the Director of Public Instructions issued a memo to all Circle Education Officers to the following effect :- Government have decided that the candidates who have acquired requisite qualification at the time of interview and have been selected by the Selection Committee be issued P.P.Os immediately. Accordingly, you are hereby directed that all such candidates who have been issued appointment letters be issued P.P.Os. immediately and intimation be sent to the undersigned. While above controversy was going on, there was another development. Two candidates, Rajesh Kumar Paramjit Singh, had filed a writ petition registered as C.W.P. 7159/1997 wherein they had laid challenge to the process of selection on the ground that ineligible persons were selected while the two petitioners who were eligible and more meritorious than some of the persons selected, were not so selected and their names did not figure in the list of selected candidates as released by the Director of Public Instructions (Schools), Chandigarh on 30th December, 1996. By its judgment dated 22.5.1997 the High Court dismissed the petition forming an opinion that the cut off date for determining t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1.5.1998. An enquiry was set up pursuant to the orders of the High Court. That enquiry has been completed on 24.12.1998. However, the above said interim orders passed by the High Court, have persuaded the Government to take at least two steps. Firstly, the memo dated 17.3.97 has been subsequently recalled. Secondly, such of the candidates who, though selected had not joined till then, were not allowed to join. In this state of affairs several petitions came to be filed before the High Court. C.W.P. 2830/98, 4633/98, 5657/98, 12495/98, 7322/97 13005/98 have been filed by the petitioners mostly selected but not permitted to join. Some of them are such candidates who have been selected and have also been joined but whose appointments are proposed to be terminated by the State Government in view of the interim orders passed by the High Court. All these petitions have been directed to be dismissed. C.W.P. 2513/98 was filed by a petitioner who complained that she was denied the opportunity of joining in the process of recruitment having been considered to be ineligible though one of the respondents in the petition filed by her was considered and selected. Another similar petition r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Anr. JT 1997 (4) SC 99; A.P. Public Service Commission Vs. B. Sarat Chandra Ors. 1990 (4) SLR 235; The Distt. Collector and Chairman, Vizianagaram (Social Welfare Residential School Society) Vizianagaram and Anr. Vs. M. Tripura Sundari Devi 1990 (4) SLR 237; Mrs. Rekha Chaturvedi Vs. University of Rajasthan Ors. JT 1993 (1) SC 220; Dr. M.V. Nair Vs. Union of India Ors. 1993 (2) SCC 429; and U.P. Public Service Commission, U.P., Allahabad Anr. Vs. Alpana JT 1994 (1) SC 94, the High Court has held (i) that the cut off date by reference to which the eligibility requirement must be satisfied by the candidate seeking a public employment is the date appointed by the relevant service rules and if there be no cut off date appointed by the rules then such date as may be appointed for the purpose in the advertisement calling for applications; ii) that if there be no such date appointed then the eligibility criteria shall be applied by reference to the last date appointed by which the applications have to be received by the competent authority. The view taken by the High Court is supported by several decisions of this Court and is therefore well settled and hence cannot be found fault ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and the applicants called for interview though not eligible by reference to the last date for receipt of applications. The selection process is complete. Even the appointment letters have been issued. The controversy arose because several officers of the Education Department at the District level refused to join the selected candidates in spite of their being armed with appointment letters. Admittedly with a stray exception of one or two, all the applicants have acquired the requisite eligibility qualifications by 30.10.96, the extended date for making applications. From the corrigendum dated 17.10.96 it cannot be clearly spelled out that though the age requirement was to be determined by reference to 30.10.96, other eligibility requirements, i.e. those relating to education, were to be tested by reference to 15.2.96 and not 30.10.96. At least the corrigendum did not specifically say so. There are no malafides alleged. It has not been the case of anyone aggrieved and certainly not a finding arrived at by the High Court that satisfaction of eligibility requirement by reference to the last date of making of the applications was not rigorously insisted on by the authorities of Educat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d given Punjabi examination before the cut off date and though the results were not declared but their answer books were evaluated before 30.10.1996 and the results were formally declared after the cut off date and they had passed the requisite examination in Punjabi. The appellants and the petitioners before us are either in category-1 or in category-3. In our opinion in view of the appointment letters having been issued, the selection and appointment of such candidates should not be disturbed and that order we make under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice in the facts and circumstances of the cases before us as already stated. For the foregoing reasons all the appeals are allowed. The judgment of the High Court, to the extent of which it has dismissed the writ petitions filed by such petitioners who were the selected candidates, is set aside. CWP 356/99 filed in this Court is also allowed. It is directed that such of the selected candidates as have already been issued appointment letters shall forthwith be issued posting orders at the earliest, say within a maximum period of two months from the date of this order. Those who have already been posted shall con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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