1. Heard Mr. P. Roy Barman, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner as well as Mr. B.N. Majumder, learned counsel appearing for the respondents-Indian Oil Corporation.

2. The facts in brief:-

In response to an advertisement notified in the daily newspapers of Tripura wherein applications were invited from the eligible candidates for appointment of LPG distributors at Village-Kathalia, within Gram Panchayat Block-Kathalia, District-Sepahijala, the petitioner applied for appointment of LPG distributorship. The said notification contains the eligibility criteria as reproduced here-in-below:-

“a. Applicants should be an Indian Citizens and be a resident of India.

b. Applicant should have passed minimum 10th Standard examination or equivalent from a recognized Board. However, the criterion of educational qualification is not applicable for applicants belonging to Freedom Fighter(FF) category.

c. Applicant should not less than 21 years and not more than 60 years in age as on the date of publication of the advertisement/Notification. There is no age restriction for applicants applying for location reserved under Freedom Fighter (FF) category.

d. Applicant should not be a