JUDGMENT :

1. RULE returnable forthwith.

2. Mr.Kurven Desai learned AGP waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of the respondent nos.1 and 2 and Ms. Vidhi Bhatt learned advocate waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of the respondent no.3.

3. Present petitions are taken up for final hearing with the consent of the learned Advocates for the respective parties as a neat interpretation of law is involved.

4. FACTS IN BRIEF ARE AS UNDER:

5. In Special Civil Application No.1672 of 2022 the Petitioner holds the qualification of B.A., LL.B. He was enrolled as an Advocate on 20.6.2010.The Petitioner was appointed as an assistant Charity Commissioner on 21.12.2019.

6. The Gujarat Public Services Commission ("GPSC" for short) issued an Advertisement inviting applications for one post of Joint Charity Commissioner, Class-I in the General State Service, in the Charity Organization, Gujarat State under the Legal Department. The last date of submitting the Applications was 17.2.2021. The Petitioner applied for the post, appeared in the Preliminary Examinations and the exercise of verification of documents was undergone.

7. On 30.10.2021 the GPSC published a list of ineligible candidates wherein the name of the present petitioner and the Petitioner of Special Civil Application No.9933 of 2022 figured with a remark "Not possessing the requisite experience as Advocate as per Recruitment Rules".

8. This communication is impugned in both the Petitions.

9. Facts of Special Civil Application No.9933 of 2022 are different only to the extent of details of date of enrollment and date of joining. The Petitioner therein was enrolled as an Advocate on 23.2.1998 but the relevant date for our purposes as per the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of V.Sudeer vs Bar Council Of India is considered as 29.1.1997.

10. The Petitioner was appointed as Assistant Charity Commissioner on 21.06.2007.

11. The Petitioner of Special Civil Application No.1672 of 2022, as per the reply of the GPSC is not possessing the requisite experience as an Advocate as according to the GPSC he has practiced as Advocate for 9 years and 6 months only i.e. not the required minimum of 10 years and the Petitioner of Special Civil Application No.9933 of 2022 has the requisite experience of 9 years and 3 months which also is less than 10 years as required by the Recruitment Rules.

12. Mr.K.B.Pujara learned Advocate for the Petitioner of Special Civil Application No.1672 of 2022 would make the following submissions.

12.1 The Petitioner is fully qualified and eligible for the post in question and the objections raised by the GPSC are wholly illegal.

12.2 As per the provisions of the Gujarat Public Trusts Act, 1950 and particularly Section 4 thereof the qualifications for the post of Charity Commissioner as well as Joint Charity Commissioner provide amongst others that a person should have been for not less than 10 years enrolled as an advocate. The Petitioner whose date of enrollment is 20.06.2010 therefore on the date of the Application i.e.17.2.2021 had been enrolled as an Advocate for more than 10 years.

12.3 Mr.Pujara would further submit that even as per the Recruitment Rules namely the Joint Charity Commissioner, Class-I Recruitment Rules, 2017 in order to be eligible for direct selection to the post of Joint Charity Commissioner, Class-I the candidate shall have not less than ten years as an advocate enrolled under the Advocates Act, 1961. Admittedly therefore even according to the Recruitment Rules the Petitioner was qualified for the post in question.

12.4 Reliance was also placed on the relevant provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961 as well as the Bar Council Of India Rules to submit that the Petitioner was qualified. Section 2(1)(a) of the Advocates Act, 1961 defines that "advocate" means an advocate entered in any roll under the provisions of the Act. Section 24 provides for a person who may be admitted on the rolls. Section 17 provides for the State Bar councils to maintain rol