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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, ANUBHA RAWAT CHOUDHARY, JJ.
Dharmendra Kumar Barnwal, S/o. Late Ganesh Lal Barnwal & Ors. - Petitioners
Versus
The State of Jharkhand & Ors. - Respondents
W.P. (S) Nos. 4852, 4669, 5081, 5041, 5163, 5204, 5206, 5234, 5236, 5237, 5240, 5241, 5262, 5263, 5264, 5280, 5282, 5372, 5376, 5399, 5402, 5435, 5436, 5461, 5462, 5463, 5483, 5485, 5487, 5571 of 2023
Decided On : 13-12-2023
Age Relaxation - Recruitment of Civil Judge (Junior Division) - Jharkhand Judicial Services (Recruitment) Rules, 2004 - [Rule 4 of Jharkhand Judicial Services (Recruitment) Rules, 2004, Malik Mazhar Sultan case, Sanjeev Kumar Sahay case, Bhola Nath Rajak case, R.L. Jain case] - The court allowed age relaxation by modifying the cut-off date in Advertisement No.22/2023 from 31st January 2023 to 31st January 2019, extending the relaxation to all candidates who had already submitted their applications. The Jharkhand Public Service Commission was directed to process the applications of the petitioners and other candidates who had submitted their applications, and 49 other persons who had submitted their applications in hard copy were also permitted to participate in the recruitment exercise, provided they met the age limit and other criteria under Advertisement No.22/2023.
Fact of the Case:
Eighty-nine aspirants sought age relaxation for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) after crossing the age limit of 35 years. They filed writ petitions seeking shifting of the cut-off date to 31st January 2019, as the advertisement for recruitment was issued in 2023, and no recruitment had been conducted for the past five years.
Finding of the Court:
The court allowed age relaxation by modifying the cut-off date in Advertisement No.22/2023 from 31st January 2023 to 31st January 2019, extending the relaxation to all candidates who had already submitted their applications. The Jharkhand Public Service Commission was directed to process the applications of the petitioners and other candidates who had submitted their applications, and 49 other persons who had submitted their applications in hard copy were also permitted to participate in the recruitment exercise, provided they met the age limit and other criteria under Advertisement No.22/2023.
Issues: The main issue was whether the petitioners, who had crossed the upper age limit of 35 years due to the absence of recruitment for the past five years, should be granted age relaxation for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division).
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the Jharkhand Judicial Services (Recruitment) Rules, 2004, and previous cases such as Malik Mazhar Sultan, Sanjeev Kumar Sahay, Bhola Nath Rajak, and R.L. Jain to allow age relaxation by modifying the cut-off date in Advertisement No.22/2023 from 31st January 2023 to 31st January 2019.
Final Decision: The court allowed age relaxation by modifying the cut-off date in Advertisement No.22/2023 from 31st January 2023 to 31st January 2019, extending the relaxation to all candidates who had already submitted their applications. The Jharkhand Public Service Commission was directed to process the applications of the petitioners and other candidates who had submitted their applications, and 49 other persons who had submitted their applications in hard copy were also permitted to participate in the recruitment exercise, provided they met the age limit and other criteria under Advertisement No.22/2023.
JUDGMENT :
Shree Chandrashekhar, J.
Eighty-nine aspirants seeking appointment to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) who crossed the age of 35 years as on 31st January 2023 are before this Court by filing thirty writ petitions seeking shifting of the cut-off date to 31st January 2019 as regards the upper age limit for making an application pursuant to Advertisement No.22 of 2023.
2. The said advertisement was issued on 14th August 2023 inviting applications for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division). The last date for filing the online applications was 21st September 2023 but, before that, WP(S) No.4852 of 2023 was filed on 29th August 2023. This writ petition was taken up for hearing on 6th September 2023 and a direction was issued by the Hon’ble DB-I to the Registrar General to ascertain whether there has been any recruitment exercise in the last 5 years for appointment to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division). By that time, other writ petitions also came to be filed and on 13th September 2023 this writ petition was listed along with WP(S) Nos.4669 of 2023 and 5081 of 2023.
3. On that day, the following order was passed by this Court :
Learned counsel for the petitioners would rely upon the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Hirandra Kumar vs. High Court of Judicature at Allahabad & Another, (2020) 17 SCC 401, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that it should not extend to upper age limit by predating the cut-off date. However, the fact of that case is different from the present bunch of cases in the sense that in The Uttar Pradesh Judicial Service Rules, 1975, a time-limit has been provided in Rule 8 and the upper age limit has been provided in Rule 12. However, in the rule that guide the Jharkhand Recruitment for Civil Judges (Jr. Division), there is no such time limit prescribed. In that view of the matter, the direction given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Malik Mazhar Sultan’s case (supra), should be followed by the State of Jharkhand as well as the Jharkhand Public Service Commission. In that view of the matter, we are inclined to issue notice.
Mr. Sachin Kumar, learned A.A.G.-II, accepts notice on behalf of respondents-State of Jharkhand; Mr. Amit Kumar Das, learned counsel, accepts notice on behalf of Jharkhand High Court through its Registrar General, and; Mr. Sanjoy Piprawall, learned counsel, accepts notice on behalf of Jharkhand Public Service Commission. They have already received advance copy of the brief.
Let them file counter affidavit within six weeks.
Rejoinder, if any, two weeks thereafter.
Put up these cases on 06.12.2023.
In the interregnum, we further direct that all these petitioners would be allowed to fill-in their forms in physical mode and if they are found otherwise eligible, not on the question of the overage, then they shall be allowed by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission to take the examinations. However, the final result shall be subject to the outcome of these bunch of writ petitions, with a further stipulation that the petitioners shall not claim any equity on the basis of this orders passed by us in the interregnum.
Let a free copy of this order be handed over to Mr. Piprawall for early compliance.
Urgent Certified copies as per rules.”
4. As it would appear from the materials on record, the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (in short, JPSC) accepted hard copies of the applications filled in by the petitioner
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