Point of Law : Appointment - Laches and delay - when a particular set of employees is given relief by the Court, all other identically situated persons need to be treated alike by extending that benefit. However, this is subject to well recognized exceptions in the form of laches and delay as well as acquiescence.

JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. M.H. Ahmed, learned counsel for the petitioners as well as Mr. D. Nath, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate for the State respondents.

2. As the issue to be decided in both the writ petitions are the same, the two writ petitions are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.

3. The petitioners are aggrieved at not being able to take part in the selection process for recruitment to the post of Constables in the Assam Industrial Security Force (AISF) Battalion under the Director General of Civil Defence (DGCD) & Commandant General of Home Guards (CGHG), Assam in terms of the Advertisement dated 13.12.2017.

4. The petitioners’ case is that in terms of the Advertisement dated 13.12.2017, for recruitment to the post of Constables in the AISF Battalion under the DGCD & CGHG, only Special Police Officers (SPOs) were allowed to participate as candidates in the selection process. The petitioners who are working as Home Guards have made a prayer to allow them to participate in the selection process, on the ground that they could not have been discriminated from participating in the selection process.

5. The petitioners’ counsel submits that the SPOs who are allowed to participate in the selection process are also Home Guards and just because the petitioners are not SPOs, the respondents cannot discriminate against the petitioners. He further submits that in a similar case being WP(C) No.6921/2021, this Court vide order dated 03.02.2022 directed the State respondents to permit the petitioners therein, who were home-guards, to take part in the selection process in terms of the Advertisement dated 13.12.2017. He accordingly submits that a similar direction should be passed in the present case.

6. The petitioners’ counsel submits that though the petitioners have prayed for setting aside the impugned advertisement dated 13.12.2017, Notice/Addendum dated 27.10.2021 and the Advertisement dated 08.06.2020, the petitioners do not wish to press the prayer for setting aside the impugned Advertisements. Further, the Advertisement dated 08.06.2020 had already been challenged in WP(C) No.6921/2021 and this Court in it’s order dated 03.02.2022 passed in WP(C) No.6921/2021 did not interfere with the Advertisement dated 08.06.2020.

7. In support of his submission that relief can be granted at a belated stage, even though the selection tests have been concluded, the petitioners’ counsel has relied upon the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Zenit Mataplast Private Limited vs. State of Maharashtra & Others reported in (2009) 10 SCC 388, which is to the effect that the Court may grant interim relief at a belated stage, where the case of a party is based on fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution and the applicant has not been negligent in pursuing the case.

8. Mr. D. Nath, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate for all the respondents submits that though the petitioners are similarly placed as the petitioners in WP(C) No.6921/2021, the present writ petition should be dismissed in view of the fact that by the time the petitioners herein had approached this Court, the Physical Efficiency Test (PET) and Written Test had already been undertaken/completed. He submits that only the results have to be declared and appointments of the selected candidates who took part in the selection process have to be made on the basis of marks secured in the PET and the Written Test. The Counsel for the respondents further submits that the petitioners being fence-sitters, they cannot be allowed to ride piggyback on the orders passed by this Court in a similar case, especially when there is delay and laches.

9. Mr. D. Nath also submits that there are 92 vacancies in AISF Battalion No.-I and 214 vacancies in AISF Battalion No.II, for which a recruitment process would be held in future. He submits that the petitioners can be allowed to participate in the said recruitment process for filling up the vacancies in the above tw