IMPORTANT POINT
If there is no age relaxation in the rules, the same cannot be brought in by any judicial interpretation.

JUDGMENT

H.L. Gokhale J.-This appeal seeks to challenge the order passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir dated 24.2.2004 in LPA No. 133/2003, confirming the order dated 8.9.2003 passed by a learned Single Judge dismissing the Writ Petition No. SWP 994/2002 filed by the appellant. Facts leading to this appeal are this wise

2. The appellant belongs to a Scheduled Tribe. He is born on 31.1.1965. He was appointed as an adhoc Munsif in the Jammu & Kashmir Judicial Service on 13.8.2001. Subsequently, he applied for the post of Munsif in the Scheduled Tribe category when a notification was issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission on 4.12.2001 for the regular appointments. The notification required the person to be of not more than thirty five years of age as on the 1st January of the year in which the notification was issued. In view thereof, the Commission informed him by communication dated 21.5.2002 that his application was rejected since he was overage by eleven months.

3. Being aggrieved by that order the appellant filed the above referred Writ Petition. A Single Judge who heard the matter, noted that as per rule 7 of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Judicial) Recruitment Rules 1967 (Judicial Services Recruitment Rules for short), the appellant was in fact overage. This rule reads as follows:-

"7. Age. No person shall be recruited to the service who is more than 35 years of age on the first day of January preceding the year examination is conducted by the Commission for Recruitment to the Service."

While dismissing the petition, the Single Judge noted that by the time that matter was heard, the appellant had crossed the age of 37 years which he claimed as the permissible age for the Scheduled Tribe candidates. The Division Bench which heard the Letters Patent Appeal also accepted the view taken by the learned Single Judge, and therefore dismissed the appeal.

4. Shri Ambrish Kumar, learned counsel appeared for the appellant, and Shri Gaurav Pachnanda, learned Senior Additional Advocate General of Jammu and Kashmir appeared for the respondents. The State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Public Service Commission of Jammu and Kashmir and the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir through its Registrar General are joined as the respondents to this appeal.

5. It is pointed out on behalf of the appellant that earlier there was no appropriate reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the services of State of Jammu and Kashmir, and also in the services of the High Court. Hence, the then Minister of Law and Justice, Union of India wrote to the Chief Justice of the High Court on 15.5.1979 drawing his attention to this position. The Union Law Minister stated in his letter as follows:-

"1....

2. From the information received from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court last year, it transpires that there is no provision for reservation for Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes in direct recruitment to the State Judicial and Higher Judicial Services.

3. ..... You will appreciate that in their present stage of development, it would be difficult for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to be represented adequately in the State Judicial and Higher Judicial Services unless special measures like reservation are undertaken. Since such reservation exists in other services, there does not seem to be sufficient reason why it should not be there in the State Judicial and Higher Judicial Services of the State........"

6. In view of this letter from the Union Law Minister, this subject was taken up in the Full Court Meeting of the High Court held from 23 rd February to 26th February, 1982, wherein following decision was taken:-

PREAMBLE RESOLVED

14. Reservation of Seats for Schedule 14. Considered the report of Registrar castes and Scheduled Tribes in the and also the relevant record. We are of Judicial Service and Minister Services. the opinion that the general rules framed by the Government of J&K in this b