The refusal to appoint the applicant, similarly situated to others granted appointments, violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and is deemed arbitrary.

ORDER

Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The SWP/WP(C) No. 1864/2018 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A. No. 61/3594/2020 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

2. The present matter was filed before the Hon’ble High Court with following prayer:

a) “WRIT OF CERTIORARI:- So as to quash the Govt. Orler No. 191-PDD of 2018 dated 27/08/2018 passed by the respondent No. 2 which is bad in the eyes of law being arbitrarily, illegal and against the mandate of judgment passed in SWP No. 86 of 2018 dated: 22 05/2018. As such the order impugned Govt. Order No 191-PDD of 2018 dated 27/08/2018 may please be quashed in the interest of justice.

b) WRIT OF MANDAMUS:-So as to command and direct the respondents to appoint the petitioner as Junior Engineer Electric in the Power Development Department on the same analogy of Govt. order No. 15- PDD of 2017 dated 21/01/2017 & Govt. Order No. 198- PD) of 2017 dated 11.9.2017 passed by the respondents, as the petitioner being selected and recommended by the J&KSSB along with the other similarly situated and appointed candidates pursuant to Advertisement No. 2 of 2015 dated 20.06.2015, the petitioner may please be held entitled for all consequential benefits, in the interest of justice.

c) AND Any other Order or direction which this Hon'ble Court deems fit and appropriate in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case may also be issued in favour of the petitioners in the interest of justice.”

3. The facts of the case as averred by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows:

a) The petitioner, Mohd. Ibrahim, aged 32 years, is a permanent resident of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir and claims entitlement to the protection of fundamental, constitutional, and statutory rights guaranteed under law.

b) Pursuant to Advertisement Notice No. 02 of 2015 dated 12.06.2015 issued by the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB), applications were invited for the post of Junior Engineer (Electric), State Cadre, Item No. 56 in the Power Development Department (PDD). The petitioner applied under the reserved category of ALC and participated in the written examination and viva-voce.

c) The petitioner qualified the selection process and his name appeared at Serial No. 1 in the select list of ALC Category issued by the JKSSB. The select list is placed on record as Annexure-B.

d) The PDD implemented the select list by issuing appointment orders to selected candidates. However, the candidate figuring at Serial No. 2 in the ALC category, namely Prabjyot Singh Ghai, did not join, resulting in one available vacancy. The petitioner, being next in the waiting list, was accordingly recommended by the JKSSB for appointment as Junior Engineer (Electric) vide communication dated 21.12.2016.

e) The Power Development Department, vide letter dated 08.12.2016, sought verification of the petitioner’s qualification, and upon receipt of the same, forwarded the petitioner’s name for appointment to the competent authority.

f) Meanwhile, due to an interim order dated 30.06.2016 passed in SWP No. 1339/2016 titled Binny Sharma v. State of J&K, the appointment of similarly situated candidates possessing B.E. (Electronics and Communication) qualification had been kept in abeyance. On account of this interim direction, the appointment of the petitioner, though otherwise recommended, was also withheld.

g) Subsequently, the interim order dated 30.06.2016 was modified by the Hon’ble High Court on 03.05.2017, permitting the appointment of similarly situated candidates. Consequently, vide Government Order No. 198-PDD of 2017 dated 11.09.2017, four such candidates—Tarun Bali, Manzoor Ahmed Bhat, Rakesh Kumar and Tarun Mahajan—who wer