JUDGMENT

Brijesh Kumar, J.-The above noted appeals involve a common question of law, hence they have been heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment. There may be some minor differences here and there on facts but without effecting the main question involved, hence for the purposes of dealing with the matter, we refer to the facts in Civil Appeal Nos.2305-06/1999. The main question for our consideration in these appeals is as to whether it was competent for the Punjab Public Service Commission (for short the Commission ) to resort to screening test with a view to shortlist the number of candidates to bring it to the ratio of three to five candidates per vacancy and further, whether keeping in view the efficiency required for the services in respect of which selection and appointments was to be made, could a written test be held to fix some minimum cut off marks, where process of selection was by interview of eligible candidates belonging to reserve category.

2. The High Court, in the judgments impugned in the above noted appeals, held that the action of the Commission in holding the screening test and prescribing the minimum qualifying marks was unreasonable, a