Eligibility for employment positions requires valid qualifications on the application deadline, irrespective of subsequent license renewals.

JUDGMENT

Petitioner applied for the post of Reserve Driver pursuant to Ext.P1 Notification published by the KSRTC. The last date for filing application was 31.1.2005. As per Ext.P1, to be eligible for appointment, the candidates must, apart from other qualifications, be authorised to drive heavy duty vehicles. The candidates should also have completed more than seven years after obtaining the driving licence, out of which, more than three years should be with authorisation to drive heavy duty vehicles. The licence must be valid as on the date of the application. Petitioner has produced Ext.P2 which is the copy of the relevant page of the driving licence. Petitioner was found eligible and was invited to appear for the driving test and he was qualified in the same and he was placed in the ranklist. He received a communication vide Ext.P3 directing him to report on 23.7.2007 with the driving licence particulars issued by the Regional WPC. 3565/08 Y 2 Transport Officer. Petitioner obtained the driving licence particulars as per Ext.P4 and it was produced before the first respondent, Public Service Commission who on verification informed him that he did not have the licence for the period from 2001 to 2006. Petitioner filed Ext.P5 representation before the first respondent. He received Ext.P6 show cause notice on the ground that he was ineligible and he did not have the licence. Petitioner submitted Ext.P7 reply. Ext.P8 is the order passed which is challenged in this Writ Petition. Petitioner seeks a further direction to consider him for appointment as Reserve Driver. A short Counter Affidavit is filed on behalf of the first respondent wherein, it is, inter alia, stated as follows:

"It is most respectfully submitted that the notification inviting applications for the post of Reserve Driver in KSRTC was published in the Gazette dated 31.12.2004. The petitioner Sri. Narayana Pisharady was one of the applicants for the post. He was admitted for the OMR test assigning Register No.56348 and was WPC. 3565/08 Y 3 provisionally included in the Ranked List published on 14.6.2007. But, at the time of detailed scrutiny of application after the publication of Ranked List, it was noticed that the petitioner did not possess valid driving licence to drive transport vehicles on the last date of application as stipulated in the notification. As per the documents produced by the candidate, it is evident that the licence to drive transport vehicles was only from 7-12-98 to 6-12-2001. The next renewal was shown for a period of 3 years from 11-4-2006 to 10-4-2009 and therefore it is clear that the petitioner has not renewed the licence from 7-12-2001 to 10-4-2006. Since the petitioner did not possess valid driving licence on the date of application (27-1-2005) and on the last date for receipt of application (31-1-2005) a show cause memo was issued to him on 19-12- 2007. But, as the reply received from him was not satisfactory, his name was removed from the Ranked List published on 25-10-2007."

2. Petitioner has filed a Reply Affidavit. Therein, the petitioner has, inter alia, set up the following case:

WPC. 3565/08 Y 4 " It is evident from the above that where as an application for renewal is made within 30 days of expiry of the validity of the licence, the renewal would take effect from the date of its expiry' whereas where an application for renewal is made after 30 days, renewal would take effect only from the date of such renewal. In the instant case, Ext.P2 licence would show that the application was again made on 22.4.2006 for renewal of the licence and the same for driving a non-transport vehicle is renewed w.e.f. 22.4.06, that is, because the date of expiry of the licence to drive a non-transport vehicle was 6.12.2001. However, the licence to drive a transport vehicle was renewed with effect from 10.4.06, that is from the date of expiry and that is because the application was within 30 days of its expiry. So long as Ext.P2 is a licence given to the