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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
VIKRAM NATH, J.B. PARDIWALA, JJ.
Alpesh Surendrasinh Rathod – Appellant
Versus
State of Gujarat – Respondent
Letters Patent Appeal No. 1246 of 2019, Special Civil Application No. 9990 of 2019, Civil Application (for Stay) No. 1 of 2019
Decided On : 17-08-2020
Constitution of India,1950 - Articles 226, 16 , 16(1) , 14, 15(3) , 16(4) and 335 - Gujarat Police Act, 1951 - Section 5(b) - Gujarat State Reserve Police Force Act, 1951 - Section 21 - Prisons Act, 1894 - Section 59(1) - Physical efficiency test/physical standard test - Permanent vacancies filled initially on a temporary basis and temporary vacancies - First is a written examination and second is a physical efficiency test/physical standard test - Present appellants who are the original writ petitioners had qualified in written examination and were therefore called for physical efficiency test/physical standard test in which also they had qualified - Category of Ex-servicemen, 131 candidates had qualified in written examination and after physical efficiency test, 83 had qualified - Present appellants fall in list of these 83 candidates in category of Ex-servicemen - When they were not being called for document verification and not being provided appointment, they approached the High Court by way of Special Civil Application - Recruitment Rules and other relevant provisions including advertisement - Gujarat Civil Services (Reservation of Vacancies for Ex-Servicemen in Class-III and Class-IV Posts and Service) Rules, 1975 –
Finding of the Court:
, Supreme Court, it is sought to be argued that written test and Physical Efficiency Test cleared by appellants could not be said to be part of main examination - Merit of candidate is not judged thereby, but only an eligible criteria is fixed - It is only when cut-off marks as prescribed are obtained, final merit of candidates is, accordingly, determined - Facts in case before the Supreme Court were quite different - Decision has no bearing at all so far as facts and the issues involved in case on hand are concerned - Observations of the Supreme Court in the last sentence of Para 32, to effect that disadvantaged group or socially backward class will have to pass the basic minimum criteria helps present appellants - learned Single Judge dismissed the petition only on the finding that prescription of cut off is in realm of policy and has to be best left to the executive – Court have no qualms with this reasoning which we have already observed above while dealing with the submission of learned Government Pleader - Writ petitioners-appellants are thus entitled to the reliefs claimed appeal is allowed - Impugned judgment and order of the learned Single Judge is set aside and the writ petition stands allowed –
Result: writ petition stands allowed
JUDGMENT :
VIKRAM NATH, J.
1. The issue involved for consideration in this appeal is as to whether the respondents have correctly applied the horizontal reservation meant for the Ex-Servicemen in the 2018 recruitment process for the Gujarat Police Force, Class-III posts. The Lokrakshak Recruitment Board issued advertisement on 14.08.2018 inviting applications for 6189 posts (which was subsequently enhanced to 9713 posts) for selection of Unarmed Police Constables, Armed Police Constables and Jail Sepoy. As per the advertisement, 10% posts were reserved for Ex-servicemen as a special reservation to be applied horizontally. Accordingly, 971 posts were available for Ex-Servicemen category across the board i.e. all the categories of social reservation and open category.
2. The selection process was in two stages. First is a written examination and second is a physical efficiency test/physical standard test. The present appellants who are the original writ petitioners had qualified in the written examination and were therefore called for the physical efficiency test/physical standard test in which also they had qualified. In all, under the category of Ex-servicemen, 131 candidates had qualified in the written examination and after the physical efficiency test, 83 had qualified. The present appellants fall in the list of these 83 candidates in the category of Ex-servicemen. However, when they were not being called for document verification and not being provided appointment, they approached the High Court by way of Special Civil Application No. 9990 of 2019. The learned Single Judge by means of judgment and order dated 13.06.2019 dismissed the writ petition. Aggrieved by the same, the present appeal has been preferred.
3. We have heard Shri Mehul Sharad Shah, the learned counsel for the appellants and Ms. Manisha Lavkumar Shah, the learned Government Pleader assisted by Shri Dharmesh Devnani, the learned Assistant Government Pleader for the State-respondents.
4. We first deal with the statutory provisions incorporating the reservation for Ex-Servicemen, the Recruitment Rules and other relevant provisions including the advertisement. The Gujarat Civil Services (Reservation of Vacancies for Ex-Servicemen in Class-III and Class-IV Posts and Service) Rules, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as “the 1975 Rules”) provide for the reservation for Ex-Servicemen. Since there is no issue that the writ petitioners-appellants are not Ex-Servicemen, we need not go into the definitions clause. We straightaway come to Rule-3 which provides that this rule would apply to all the Gujarat Civil Services Class-III and Class-IV posts. Rule-4 provides for reservation of vacancies. Sub-Rule (1) of Rule-4 provides for reservation over 10% of the vacancies in each of the cadre of Class-III and Class-IV posts. Sub-Rule (2) of Rule-4 provides that there should be reservation for the candidates of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes also from the Ex-Servicemen. Rule-5 provides for special provisions regarding age limit. Rule-6 provides for special provisions regarding educational qualifications. Rule-6A provides for lowering of standards for selection of Ex-Servicemen. Rule-7 provides for amendment of Recruitment Rules, according to which, the said reservation rules would be applicable to all Recruitment Rules for recruitment of Class-III and Class-IV posts and services under the Government of Gujarat. There are no issues relating to relaxation of age limit and educational qualifications. However, the interpretation and understanding of Rule-4 and Rule-6A of the 1975 Rules would be relevant, as such, the same are reproduced below:
(1) Ten per cent of the vacancies in each of the categories of Class-III posts and of such posts in each Class III service and Twenty percent of the vacancies in each of the categories of Class IV posts and
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