IMPORTANT POINT
Hypothetical arguments cannot be accepted.

JUDGMENT

Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is filed against the final judgment and order dated 10.05.2013 passed by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu in L.P.A. No. 102 of 2012 whereby the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the appellant herein while upholding the judgment dated 12.11.2012 passed by the learned Single Judge of the High Court in SWP No. 2699 of 2010.

3. In order to appreciate the issues involved in the appeal, which lie in a narrow compass, few relevant facts need mention infra.

4. The appellant completed B.Sc. with Forestry as one of the major subjects from Garhwal University, Uttarakhand in the year 2001. Thereafter he also completed his M.Sc.(Forestry) from the same University in the year 2003.

5. The appellant also passed the National Eligibility Test (NET) in Forestry from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the year 2005-2006.

6. The J & K Forest Service (Gazetted) Recruitment Rules, 1970 (in short ‘the Rules’) lays down the eligibility qualifications for the post of Range Officer Grade-I (Forest) which is “B.Sc. Forestry or its equivalent from any University recognized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research”.

7. The Indian Council of Forest Research & Education (in short “ICFRE”) issued Notification dated 15.01.1999 clarifying that the syllabus of State Forest Service (in short ‘SFS’) Colleges was very much akin to that of Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (in Short “IGNFA”), therefore, considering the high standard of training and education in the SFS Colleges, the ICFRE resolved that “SFS College Diploma to be treated as equivalent to M.Sc.(Forestry).”

8. By letter dated 15.02.2007, the Forest Research Institute (in short ‘FRI’) informed the Department of Forest, J & K Government, that the SFS Colleges Diploma be treated as equivalent to M.Sc. (Forestry). In turn, on 12.03.2007, the Forest Department informed the same to the J.K. Public Service Commission (JKPSC) endorsing the opinion of the FRI dated 15.02.2007.

9. By Notification dated 20.07.2007, the JKPSC advertised 23 posts of J & K Forest Service Range Officers Grade-I (Forest) and invited applications from the eligible candidates. The eligibility qualification mentioned in the Notification was “B.Sc.(Forestry) or equivalent from any University recognized by the ICAR”. The appointment to the post was to be made on the basis of written test, viva-voce test, walking test and medical test. The appellant applied for the said post.

10. By Notification dated 08.09.2010, the JKPSC declared the appellant as an ineligible candidate for appointment to the post of Range Officer Grade I(Forest) on the ground that he does not possess the prescribed qualification.

11. On 07.10.2010, the appellant sent a representation to the JKPSC to re-consider his case as according to him, he possessed the qualification prescribed for the post. On 11.10.2010, the appellant sent another representation to the JKPSC requesting it to allow him to participate in the selection. Since no action was taken on the representation, the appellant filed a petition being SWP No. 2699 of 2010 before the High Court for issuance of writ of certiorari for quashing the said notification dated 08.09.2010 and for further direction to the JKPSC to allow him to participate in the selection process.

12. The learned Single Judge, by interim order dated 24.11.2010, allowed the appellant to appear in the written examination subject to the outcome of the writ petition. Accordingly, the appellant appeared in the examination.

13. On 22.02.2011, the result of the written examination was produced in the Court by the JKPSC, which declared the appellant as successful. The learned Single Judge permitted the appellant to appear in the interview.

14. On 22.07.2011, the JKPSC published a list of selected candidates who were recommended for appointment on the basis of merit but the list did not reflect the name of the appellant.

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