IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2826 of 2026 ==========================================================

CHIRAGKUMAR MOHANBHAI TANK Versus STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.

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Appearance:

MR MAHARSHKUMAR H UPADHYAY(11697) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 MR MITUL GAUTAM, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1 MR HAMESH C NAIDU(5335) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3 ==========================================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRZAR S. DESAI Date : 12/03/2026 ORAL ORDER

1. Heard learned advocate Mr. Siddharth Dave for the petitioner.

2. By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:-

(A) Issue a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, quashing and setting aside the impugned notification dated 09.10.2025 issued by the Respondent Corporation (Annexure F) (Page no. 4º), by which the recruitment process initiated vide Advertisement No. 13/2024 25 (Annexure A) (Page no.17) was cancelled and further be pleased to direct the respondent authority to complete the said recruitment process and give an appointment order to the petitioner who is duly qualified and whose document verification got completed by the respondent authority as per the advertisement.

(B) Issue a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, quashing and setting aside the new recruitment advertisement being Public Notice No. 21/202526 dated 13.01.2026 (Annexure G) (Page no.49)

issued by the Respondent Corporation.

(C) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, commanding the Respondent Corporation to finalize the selection process pursuant to the Advertisement No. 13/202425 (Annexure A) (Page no. 17 and to issue appointment letters to the Petitioner in accordance with the merit list.

(D) Pending the admission, hearing, and final disposal of this petition, be pleased to stay the further proceedings of the new recruitment process initiated vide Public Notice No. 21/2025- 26 dated 13.01.2026 (Annexure G) (Page по..

49).

(E) Pending the admission, hearing, and final disposal of this petition, be pleased to direct the Respondent Corporation to finalize the selection process pursuant to the Advertisement No. 13/2024-25 (Annexure A) (Page no. 17 and to issue appointment letter to the Petitioner in accordance with the merit list or to keep one seat vacant.

F) Award the costs of this petition.

G) Grant such other and further reliefs as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

3. A perusal of the reliefs prayed for would indicate that the petitioner wants to quash the impugned notification dated 09.10.2025 and by way of ad-interim relief, the petitioner has prayed for stay of further proceedings of new recruitment process for the post of Livestock Inspector initiated vide public notice No. 21 of 2025-26 dated 13.01.2026. A perusal of the advertisement would indicate that the last date of submission of application form had already ended on 27.01.2026.

4. To make out a case for ad-interim relief, learned advocate Mr. Dave for the petitioner made the following submissions:-

4.1 The petitioner was competent for being appointed pursuant to the first recruitment process which was canceled vide notification dated 09.10.2025 as the petitioner had succeeded and reached upto the stage of document verification. However the above recruitment was canceled without there being any justification for the same and a new advertisement was published and therefore the new recruitment is required to be stayed.

4.2 If the recruitment process is not stayed, in that case, the petition would become infructuous and third party rights would be created and therefore this is a fit case for grant of ad-interim relief.

4.3 There was a legitimate expectation from the authority that once the petitioner had cleared the competitive examination and reached to the stage o