Mandatory registration with the employment exchange for eligibility in a selection process was held to be illegal and invalid, and the petitioner's eligibility should be considered as existing on the date when her name was included in the select list.

JUDGMENT :

The brief facts, which are the subject matter of consideration, in the present writ petition are, that respondent No. 4, i.e. the Agency conducting the selection process and had issued an advertisement on 23rd February 2014, thereby advertising the posts, to be filled-in for the post of Assistant Teacher L.T. Grade in the pay-scale of Rs. 9300-34800, carrying a grade-pay of Rs. 4600/-.

2. In pursuance to the advertisement thus issued, the petitioner claims to have extended her candidature, having found herself to be suitable as per the conditions of the advertisement and she had participated in the selection process and was considered, as against the post, which was made available for Assistant Teacher L.T. Grade (Arts).

3. After scrutinisation of her testimonials, she was issued with an Admit Card, and allotted with a Roll No. 590707222, and the consequential examinations, in pursuance to which the written examination was conducted; by way of an objective types of question papers, she participated in the process, which was held on 29th March 2015.

4. On culmination of the process of selection, which was conducted on 29th March 2015, the result of the same was declared on 19th April 2016, and the petitioner in the same was declared to be a selected candidate, for the aforesaid examination. Consequence to her inclusion of the name in the select list, she was called-upon to participate in the subsequent counseling, which was held on 24th April 2016, but the petitioner had been, later on, held to be non-suited to be granted with an appointment, in view of the subsequent corrigendum, which was issued on 25th May 2014, drawing an embargo of the implications of the provision to sub Rule 4(1) of the Rules called as “Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (within the purview of Public Service Commission and outside the purview of Public Service Commission (Recruitment on Group C Post) Rules 2010.

5. As per the said Rules of 2010, Rule 4 had laid down an embargo, that for the purposes of making a candidate eligible to participate in the process of selection, as per the procedure prescribed, under the Rules of 2010, it had mandated, that a candidate has had to be registered with the employment exchange of the State of Uttarakhand. It was due to the said embargo of Rule 4(1), that the petitioner was later on determined to be non-suited to be granted with the appointment, though she stood selected and her name was included in the select list. Hence, she preferred the present writ petition, challenging the vires of Rule 4(1) of Rules of 2010, and also prayed for quashing the implications of Government Order dated 10th February 2014, and the condition of the advertisement, as it was contained under Rule 2(1) of the advertisement dated 22nd April 2014.

6. When the writ petition was heard at admission stage, considering the arbitrary implications of Rule 4(1), and the conditions of the advertisement, as provided under clause 2(1), the coordinate Bench of this Court, on 20th June 2016 has passed an interim order to the following effect, which is extracted hereunder:-

“Meanwhile, one post of Assistant Teacher L.T. Grade (Arts) shall be reserved for the petitioner and she shall be allowed to participate in the ongoing counseling. However, her candidature will be provisional and subject to final decision of this writ petition.”

7. The effect of the interim order dated 20.06.2016, was that, one post, which was available to be filled-in for the post of Assistant Teacher L.T. Grade (Arts), was reserved for the petitioner and was made, as a subject to a final decision of the writ petition.

8. When the matter was taken up today, the learned counsel for the petitioner had submitted, that the provisions contained under Rule 4 (1), as introduced by the Rules of 2010, would be violative of Article 14 to be read with Article 16 of the Constitution of India, as such, a restriction of mandatory registration, with the employment exchange within the State, c