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 Coun