JUDGMENT

SAWANT, J.:—Leave granted.

The appellant is a member of the Bar. He had filed a petition in the nature of a public interest litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution of India before the High Court of Patna praying for a writ of quo warranto challenging the appointment of respondent No. 6, Dr. Shiva Jatan Thakur as a Member of the Bihar State Public Service Commission. The High Court dismissed the writ petition. Hence the present appeal.

2. The attack against the appointment of respondent No. 6 is based on two grounds :

(a) on the date of his appointment i.e., 4th March, 1991, respondent No.6 was the seventh non-service member. The total strength of the Public Service Commission being eleven (including the Chairman), the appointment of the seventh member from the non-service category, was violative of the proviso to Article 316(1) of the Constitution which requires that as nearly as may be, one-half of the members shall be persons who have held office for at least ten years either under the Government of India or under a Government of the State.

(b) respondent No. 6 was totally blind even from a date prior to his appointment and was unfit to be appointed, by reason of the said physical infirmity.

We are, accordingly, required to consider whether these two grounds were sufficient to disqualify respondent No. 6 from being appointed as a member of the Commission.

3. In his counter-affidavit, respondent No. 6 has stated, among other things, that he happens to be the son of a peon retired from the Railways. We are informed by Shri Mukhoty, the learned Counsel appearing for him, that he belongs to the backward community of barbers. He has been blind since the age of eight years. In spite of his blindness, he was able to pursue his educational career successfully, and he earned degrees and diplomas. He is a Ph.D. in English of the Patna University. He has been a University college teacher in English and he was promoted to the post of Reader in English on the completion of bare eight years of service. He was the first teacher of the Patna University who was unanimously recommended for the award of D. Litt. on account of the excellence of his thesis written for Ph.D. As a scholar in English, he has submitted papers to national and international conferences. He is a life-member of the organisations who sponsor these conferences. The Government of Bihar vide its D.O. letter No. 2740 dated 22nd October, 1991 sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, had recommended him for the prestigious national award of "Padmashree" for his services as a Member of the Public Service Commission. The President of India on 15th March, 1992 conferred on him National Award which reads: "this national award is given to Dr. Shiva Jatan Thakur in public recognition of his outstanding performance as the most efficient employee". He has also referred to the circumstances under which his present appointment came to be challenged nearly 9-1/2 months after it was made. While he was appointed on 4th March, 1991, the writ petition was filed in the High Court on 14th January, 1992. According to him, he had made a representation to the President of India, the Governor of Bihar and others, against the serious misconduct, gross malpractice and wilful violation of the constitutional mandate by the Chairman of the Commission. The present writ petition was filed in the High Court 18 days after a copy of the representation was received by the Chairman, among others. It is his dispute with the Chairman who according to him is backed by the Chief Minister of the State which has led to the present writ petition. He has also stated that the Chief Minister in his press interview given to the local Urdu daily, viz., Quami Tanzeem and published on 27th March, 1992, had made his intentions public to move this Court against his appointment. Those averments are not controverted.

According to him further, it was on account of his academic distinctions, and with the full knowl