Judgments in employment cases are subject to concepts of laches and acquiescence, whereby delayed claims can be denied relief, emphasizing the need for timely challenges to selection processes.

JUDGMENT :

A.S. SUPEHIA, J.

ORDER ON LPA Nos.439 of 2025 and 441 of 2025 :

1. ADMIT. Learned advocates appear and waive service of notice of admission on behalf of the respective respondents.

2. The captioned appeals being Letters Patent Appeals Nos.439 and 441 of 2025 filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, 1865, are directed against the judgment and order dated 27.02.2025, passed in the captioned writ petition filed by the private respondents. The learned Single Judge has allowed the petitions by directing the respondent–State authorities to delete the names of the present appellants from the select list. Whereas the Letters Patent Appeal No.101 of 2025 is filed against the judgment and order dated 02.07.2024 passed in Special Civil Application No.9754 of 2024 filed by the appellants – original petitioners (Kishankumar Babubhai Chamar Changecha and others).

3. The entire case of the respective parties hinges on the judgment and order of the Division Bench dated 10.11.2023 passed in Letters Patent Appeal No.705 of 2023 in Special Civil Application No. 15597 of 2017.

BRIEF FACTS :

4. The issue raised in the present appeals arise between two sets of candidates; one who possess the qualification as prescribed in Clause No.3.1 of the advertisement i.e. either two years or three years diploma in Agriculture, or a Bachelor in Rural Studies obtained from any university established or incorporated under a Central or State Act in India or any other educational institutions recognized as such or declared as deemed university under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956; and the second set i.e. the present appellants, who possess the educational qualification of B.Sc.(Agriculture).

5. The respondent - District Panchayat Service Selection Committee, Mehsana issued an advertisement on 23.11.2016, inviting applications for the post of Gram Sevak (Class-III) in the said district. The advertisement prescribed the requisite qualification for the candidates in Clause 3.1 of the advertisement, as “either two years or three years diploma in Agriculture, or a Bachelor in Rural Studies obtained from any university established or incorporated under a Central or State Act in India or any other educational institutions recognized as such or declared as deemed university under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956”. The present appellants along with the private respondents applied online for post of Gram Sevak (Class-III). They appeared in the written test, and their names appeared in the provisional list published by the respondent-authorities on 10.03.2017. The said list included the names of the present appellants as well as the private respondents, and all other ineligible candidates possessing different qualifications. It appears that subsequently, a final select list was prepared on 03.04.2017, which only included the name