The exemption from passing the departmental examination for promotion based on eligibility as of 01.09.2022 does not violate Article 14 of the Constitution, as it is a reasonable classification.

JUDGMENT :

SUNITA AGARWAL, C.J.

1. The challenge in the present petition is to the provisions contained in the Rule 2(i) of the Gujarat Panchayat Services (Class-III), Departmental Examination (Second Amendment) Rules, 2023 (in short as ‘the Rules’ 2023’), whereby a proviso has been inserted in sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of the Gujarat Panchayat Services (Class-III), Departmental Examination Rules, 2022 (in short as ‘the Departmental Examination Rules’ 2022) as under:-

“2. In the Gujarat Panchayat Services (Class-III), Departmental Examination Rules, 2022, (hereinafter referred to as “the said rules”), in rule-3,

(i) After sub-rule(1), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-

“Provided that the person who was eligible in all respect on the 1^st September, 2022 for being promoted to the post mentioned in Part-II Appendix-A shall be exempted from passing the examination.”

2. The original Rules 3(1) and 4 of the Departmental Examination Rules’ 2022 is relevant to be extracted hereinunder:-

“3. Requirement to pass the examination

3(1) The person appointed to the post specified in Part-I of Appendix A shall be required to pass the Lower Level Departmental Examination to be eligible for promotion tot he respective post specified in Part-II of Appendix A.”

4. Eligibility to appear in the examination

(1) No person shall be eligible to appear in the examination unless he has completed two years’ of continuous service after his appointment on the post of Part-I of Appendix A and Appendix B.

(2) No person shall be eligible to appear in the examination unless he has passed the post-training examination to existing post or he has been exempted from passing post-training examination by the Competent authority, if any.

3. The grievance raised by the petitioners is about the exemption granted to the persons eligible in all respects as on 01.09.2022 from passing the departmental examination, for being promoted to the post of Female Health Supervisor Class-III, from Female Health Workers Class-III. While challenging the validity of the amended Rules inserting the exemption clause, the challenge has also been raised to the promotion of five incumbents (respondents No.3 to 7 herein) to the post of Female Health Supervisor (Class-III) vide order dated 29.06.2024, by giving benefit of the aforesaid exemption clause.

4. The submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that vide the Departmental Examination Rules’ 2022, notified on 23.08.2022, it became necessary for every incumbent working on the post of Female Health Worker Class-III to pass the Lower level departmental examination to be eligible for promotion to the post of Female Health Supervisor Class-III. Once the requirement of passing the departmental examination has been brought into the rules within the eligibility criteria for the purposes of promotion, there was no justification to exclude those who were otherwise eligible as on 01.09.2022, from the requirement of passing the departmental examination.

5. The contention is that as per the eligibility criteria, an incumbent working on the post of Female Health Worker Class-III is eligible to appear in the departmental examination, as per Rule 3 of the Departmental Examination Rules’ 2022, on completion of two years of continuous service after her appointment on the said post and completion of six months training and further passing of the post-training examination. The eligibility criteria, thus, for each incumbent working on the post of Female Health Worker Class-III is universal that (i) completion two years of continuous service after appointment on the said post; (ii) having passed, post-training examination to the existing post after completion of six months training.

6. However, the requirement of passing of Lower level departmental examination introduced with the Notification dated 23.08.2022 is in addition to the above noted eligibility criterias for promotion to the post of Female Health Supervisor Class-III. The submission is th