Anant S. Dave, J.

Letters Patent Appeal Nos.349 of 2018 and allied appeals

1. The challenge in this and other appeals filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent is to CAV judgment dated 23.2.2018 rendered in Special Civil Application No.6953 of 2017 and allied writ petitions involving almost similar facts and identical issues and all writ petitions were heard together and came to be disposed of by common judgment.

2. For the sake of convenience, nature of challenge in Special Civil Application No.11445 of 2017 by the petitioner and the prayer made therein is reproduced herein below:-

"6. The petitioners therefore, pray that:-

(a) This Honourable Court may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or in the nature of mandamus or any appropriate, writ, order or direction, quashing and setting aside the action of the respondents in denying appointment to the petitioner on the post of Gram Sevak by holding that the deletion of her name from the final select list is unauthorized, illegal and contrary to the Recruitment Rules;

(b) This Honourable Court may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or in the nature of mandamus or any appropriate, writ, order or direction, directing the respondents to offer appointment by incorporating petitioner's name in the list as per her own merit on the post of Gram Sevak;

(c) During the admission, pendency and final hearing of this petition, be pleased to restrain the respondents from issuing appointment orders to any candidate on the post of Gram Sevak;"

2.1 That in all other writ petitions similar prayers were made and the basis of challenge was grievances of all the writ petitioners, who were enlisted in provisional merit list prepared by respondent no.2 for the post of Gram Sevak, finally did not figure in the select list and, therefore, prayer was made to set aside such deletion of their names from the select list and directions were sought against respondents to offer them appointment for the post of Gram Sevak.

3. According to writ petitioners, an advertisement inviting application for the post of Gram Sevak, Class-III, was issued by respondent no.2 viz. concerned District Panchayat Service Selection Board in all the writ petitions, whereby applications were to be submitted on-line and the applicant was to apply on the specified website from 24.11.2016 (15.00 hours) to 07.12.2016 (23.59 hours). The above recruitment was to take place on vacant posts by way of direct recruitment and the advertisement contained various instructions and information for submitting on-line application. Along with application, the applicant was required to fill up basic details about educational qualification, age, certificate of leaving school, caste, physical disability, ex-serviceman and other such certificates as required. The advertisement contained number of vacancies notified and to be filled in and reservations under the Rules provided for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Socially and Educational Backward Class and also for Female. That applicability of Government Resolution dated 11.11.2014 about reservation of 33% for Female, 10% for Ex-servicemen and 3% for Physically Challenged Candidates, even instructions contained concession to be given to widow applicant.

3.1 So far as physically challenged applicant, provision of Government Resolution dated 11.12.2013 was to be applied providing 1% reservation each for blind or visually challenged, hearing handicap and loco-motor disability etc. Likewise, candidates having certificate issued by the competent authority for recognized sports was to be given additional marks and restrictions were imposed for applying with other District Panchayat since recruitment was undertaken by various District Panchayats Service Selection Boards and Districts in the State of Gujarat, simultaneously having common OMR test. Thus, one candidate a