JUDGMENT :

Since common question of law is involved in all the above captioned appeals and petitions and facts of the case are almost similar, this court after having clubbed all the cases heard them together and same are now being disposed of vide this common judgment. However, for the sake of clarity, facts of CWP No. 6443 of 2021 are being discussed herein below.

2. The petitioner who is an Ex-serviceman. after being retired from the armed forces, joined civil employment in the State of Himachal Pradesh as a Trained Graduate Teacher (Arts) with Education Department on 28.6.2016, on contract basis and thereafter his services were regularized on 23.11.2019.

3. State of Himachal Pradesh framed the Demobilised Armed Forces Personnel (Reservation Of Vacancies In The Himachal State Non-Technical Services) Rules, 1972 (hereinafter, ‘Rules 1972’) in order to provide benefits to the Ex-servicemen. Primarily we are concerned with rules 3 (1) and 5(1), which read as under:

“3. Reservation of vacancies: (1) [Fifteen percent of the vacancies in respect of all post viz. Class I, II, III and IV to be filled up through direct recruitment shall be reserved for being filled up by the Released Indian