Point of Law: Service Matter - Appointment - When the enactment enjoins that any evidence would be treated as conclusive proof of certain factual situations or legal hypothesis, law would forbid other evidence to be adduced for purposes of contradicting or varying such conclusiveness.

JUDGMENT :

Sanjay Dhar, J.

1. Appellants have challenged judgments dated 15.03.2019 passed by learned Writ Court, whereby writ petitions filed by the appellants bearing SWP Nos.431/2019, 433/2019 and 434/2019 have been dismissed.

2. The facts leading to filing of these intra-court appeals are that Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (for short the respondent Board) issued advertisement notice No.06/2017/01 to 06/2017/14 dated 28.12.2017, inviting online application from eligible candidates for selection to the District Cadre posts of General Line Teachers. These advertised posts related to Anantnag, Bandipora, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Srinagar, Samba, Udhampur, Reasi and Rajouri districts. In the case of District Srinagar, 333 District Cadre posts of Teachers were advertised, out of which 33 posts were reserved for Scheduled Tribe category candidates. As per the advertisement notice, only the candidates belonging to a particular district were eligible to apply for the posts pertaining to the said district. The last date for submission of application forms was fixed as 21st January, 2018.

3. The writ petitioners responded to the aforesaid advertisement notice by offering their candidature for Scheduled Tribe Category posts pertaining to district Srinagar. After conducting OMR based written test of the candidates, the respondent Board issued provisional shortlist of the candidates vide its communication No.SSB/Secy/2018/9151-55 dated 04.08.2018 asking the shortlisted candidates to appear before the Counselling cum Document Verification Committee for counselling and document verification. The writ petitioners, accordingly, appeared before the Committee and submitted certain certificates regarding their eligibility. However, when the select list was published by the respondent Board, the writ petitioners did not find their names in the same even though they had secured higher merit than those who were selected in the merit list issued by the respondent Board. Accordingly, the writ petitioners challenged the selection of candidates as General Line Teachers under Scheduled Tribe category of District Srinagar by filing the writ petitions which are subject matter of these intra-court appeals.

4. The respondent Board filed its objections before the Writ Court, in which it contended that the Counselling cum Document Verification Committee, upon verification of the documents produced by the writ petitioners, found them not eligible for the post of Teacher for District Cadre Srinagar as they failed to produce residence certificate as envisaged by Section 13 of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment Act, 2010 (“Act of 2010” for short hereinafter). The respondent Board took a stand that the merit position of the writ petitioners is immaterial because they could not be considered for the advertised posts under Scheduled Tribe category for District Srinagar as they have been found not eligible for the said posts. Accordingly, the respondent Board justified its action of ignoring the candidature of the writ petitioners in the select list.

5. The learned Writ Court upon consideration of the material on record, came to the conclusion that there is nothing on record to suggest that as on date of application, the writ petitioners had resided in District Srinagar for a period of not less than 15 years and, as such, they were rightly held ineligible for the posts in question. Accordingly, the writ petitions have been dismissed in terms of judgments dated 15.03.2018 which are under challenge before us.

6. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record of the case.

7. The decision in this case hinges on determination of the issue whether the writ petitioners, on the basis of the documents which they had placed before the Counselling cum Document Verification Committee, could be stated to have resided for a period not less than 15 years before the date of application in District