266.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 30.03.2026 Gurloveleen Singh .... Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .... Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE NAMIT KUMAR Present: Mr. Ravinder Malik, Advocate, for the petitioner.

Mr. Amarpreet Singh Bains, AAG, Punjab.

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NAMIT KUMAR, J. (ORAL)

1. The petitioner has filed the instant writ petition under Articles

226/227 of the Constitution of India, claiming the following reliefs:-

i. For issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction, especially in the nature of certiorari, for quashing Advertisement No. 20251 dated 02.01.2025 (Annexure P-4), to the extent that it:

Creates and treats "Category 76 Persons With Benchmark Disabilities" as a stand-alone and mutually exclusive vertical reservation compartment, contrary to the settled constitutional position that reservation for PwBD is horizontal and interlocking;

Incorporating vide Clauses 6.2 and 6.11, mandating that a candidate may apply in "only one category" and that the category once selected shall not be changed under any circumstances, thereby compelling an impermissible election between vertical and horizontal entitlements;

Enforcing vide