JUDGMENT :

HARPREET SINGH BRAR, J.

1. This order shall dispose of the above-mentioned writ petitions as they arise from a similar factual matrix. However, for the sake of brevity, the facts are taken from CWP-2775-2020.

2. The present writ petition has been filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari for quashing the impugned order dated 14.01.2020 (Annexure P-8), whereby the offer of appointment for the post of Grid Substation Operator (GSO) issued to the petitioner has been cancelled. The petitioner further seeks a direction to the respondents to maintain status quo regarding the said post.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner inter alia contended that the petitioner, being an eligible candidate under the Dependent of Ex- Serviceman (hereinafter ‘DESM’) category, applied for the post of Clerk vide Advertisement No. 10/2015 dated 24.11.2015. During the pendency of this recruitment, the petitioner also applied for the post of Grid Substation Operator (GSO) under the same category pursuant to Advertisement No. 3/2016 dated 20.02.2016.

4. It is submitted that the petitioner appeared in the written examination for the post of GSO and was declared successful on 07.09.2017, thereby qualifying for the next stage of the selection process, namely the interview. However, due to an interim stay granted by this Hon’ble Court in CWP No. 4728 of 2017, the interview and subsequent selection process for the GSO post were significantly delayed. In the interim, the results for the post of Clerk were declared, and the petitioner was issued an appointment letter dated 16.03.2018.

5. Learned Counsel further emphasized that the petitioner, being unemployed at the time and facing uncertainty due to the ongoing litigation regarding the GSO post, accepted the appointment and joined as a Clerk in the Public Health Engineering Department on 24.05.2018 after availing a legitimate extension.

6. Subsequently, the stay regarding the GSO recruitment was vacated, and the HVPNL issued an offer of appointment to the petitioner for the post of GSO on 28.08.2018. However, joining was again delayed due to a fresh stay in CWP No. 21544 of 2018, which was eventually vacated on 06.02.2019. When the petitioner approached the respondents to join as GSO, he was verbally denied on the ground that he had already availed the DESM benefit by joining as a Clerk. Aggrieved by the aforesaid denial, the petitioner approached this Court vide CWP-24320-2019. This Court issued notice to the respondents and during the pendency of the writ petition, the respondents passed the impugned order dated 14.01.2020 (Annexure P-8) whereby the appointment letter issued to the petitioner was cancelled on the ground that the benefit of dependant of Ex-serviceman is to be given once in a lifetime and someone who avails such benefits for any posts ceases to be dependent of Ex-serviceman.

7. Learned counsel places reliance on the official memorandum dated 14.08.2014 (Annexure P-7) by the Government of India, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Department of personnel and training wherein it is stipulated that if an Ex-Serviceman applies for multiple vacancies before joining any civil employment, he/she can avail the benefit of reservation for any subsequent employment, provided an undertaking is given to the employer regarding the details of application for various vacancies. The attention of this Court is further drawn to the communication dated 13.04.2022 issued by the Government of Haryana, Human Resource Department, wherein it has been clarified that the aforesaid benefit shall also extend to the dependants of Ex-Servicemen.

8. Moreover, learned counsel submitted that the controlling/supervisory authority of the posts reserved for Ex-serviceman and their dependants, i.e., Zila Sainik Board Ambala, in its reply dated 01.05.2019 (Annexure P-6) specifically clarified that they had “no objection” if the petitioner join