Point of Law: It is a trite law that unless and until the Rules are not under challenge the statutory effect of the Rules cannot be given a goby and further Courts are not in a position to modify or substitute the eligibility criteria prescribed in the advertisement for the recruitment/promotion process.

ORDER :

1. By way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, these petitioners 36 in numbers have prayed for the following reliefs :

“21(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to allow this Special Civil Application.

(B) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or direction or order directing the respondent authorities to permit the petitioners to take part in the process of promotion/recruitment to the post of PSI Unarmed Class-III (Mode-III) and further be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to permit the petitioners to participate in all stages of the said promotion process, and thereafter to issue the necessary orders of promotion once they fulfill and clear all the stages of the said process successfully;

(C) By way of interim relief, this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to accept the application form of petitioners for the process of the promotion/recruitment pursuant to the advertisement at Annexure A of the petition and to permit the petitioners to participate in all the stages of the said promotion/recruitment process, in the interest of justice;

(D) Pass any such other and/or further orders that may be though just and proper, in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

2. The petitioners are stated to be Assistant Sub Inspectors who are in service and having experience in Police Department of more than approximately 20 years. Since the authorities are not permitting the petitioners to participate in the process of promotion to the posts of PSI which has been initiated pursuant to the advertisement dated 26.06.2020, have invoked extra ordinary jurisdiction of this Court. By virtue of Notification dated 27.01.2020 the examination rules have been framed by the Home Department, State of Gujarat, which are known as Police Sub-Inspector (Unarmed) Class-III (Departmental Examination) Rules, 2019. It is further asserted in the petition that the recruitment rules to the post of PSI has been framed by virtue of Notification dated 03.03.2020 by the Home Department, State of Gujarat, and by taking aid of these Rules, the petitioners have submitted that they are the Head Constables and Assistant Sub-Inspectors and since they have service of more than 20 years, the action of the authority in not permitting to fill up the forms in the said process of promotion to the post of PSI is arbitrary, illegal and unsustainable and quite contrary to the fact of the Rules.

3. This petition appears to have been presented on 25.02.2021 and has come up for consideration before this Court on 01.03.2021, wherein, Mr. Kamlesh Kotai, learned advocate for the petitioners after arguing for some time has requested for some accommodation to get the proper instructions from his clients and accordingly, time was granted and, the matter is placed for considering further on 02.03.2020. Learned advocate Mr. Kotai, has chosen to argue the matter further. Hence, with the aforesaid background, the hearing has taken place of the present proceedings.

4. Mr. Kamlesh Kotai, learned advocate for the petitioners has submitted that these petitioners are having experience of approximately more than 20 years in Police Department itself and on the basis of the Rules which are framed for promotion to the posts of PSI, the authorities are under obligation to allow the petitioners to appear in the said process of accepting their forms. It has been asserted that similarly situate persons who were serving on the post of Head Constable and Constables having approximately 20 years service in the department have been permitted to participate in the process and as such, these petitioners also deserves to be given equal treatment by allowing them to participate in the process. A reference is made to few of the petitions which are mentioned in para 7 of the petition memo but without supplying details thereof, by referring to the same, a request is made to grant the relief as prayed