- (1.) These two allied appeals arising from a common judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High court at Chandigarh, in Civil Writ Petition Nos. 1172 of 1974 and 1860 of 1975, on grant of special leave, can appropriately be disposed of by a common judgment.
(2.) In order to recruit 71 officers in the Punjab Civil Services (Executive Branch) and Allied Services, the Punjab public service commission, at the behest of the State of Punjab, held a competitive examination in December 1972. As advertised 12 vacancies were for the Punjab Civil Services and the remaining for Allied Services. The applying candidates as per the requirement of the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) Rules, 1930 (for short 'the Rules') specified the posts in order of preference in their respective applications. The result of those who were declared qualified was published in the daily Tribune dated 21/09/1973. Out of the 71 candidates declared successful Shri V. M. Bansal, the appellant in civil no. 833 of 1977 was declared successful for a post in the Punjab Civil Service and Shri Jaswant Singh Nerwal, the appellant in civil no. 334 of 1978 for the post of Tehsildar in the Allied Services. Some of the unsuccessful candidates challenged this selection in its entirety on various grounds before the High court through Civil Writ Petition No. 1172 of 1974. On the other hand challenge in Civil Writ Petition No. 1860 of 1975 was made by Nerwal against Bansal for the latter having been allowed in the meantime substituted preference for the posts to the ones given in the first instance in his application, and which led to his becoming a Punjab Civil Services Officer and Nerwal to be a Tehsildar, in the Allied Services and had the substitution not been allowed the position would have been that Nerwal would have been in the PCS and Bansal an Excise and Taxation Officer. The challenge thus was to the Commission having allowed substitution of the preference. The High court negatived the challenge of Nerwal and his claim to be declared successful to a post in the Punjab Civil Service in preference to Bansal and thus dismissed Civil Writ Petition No. 1860 of 1975. Simultaneously Writ Petition No. 1172 of 1974 preferred by the unsuccessful candidates was allowed in part inasmuch as the selection of Bansal as a Punjab Civil Service Officer and his consequential appointment was quashed. The High court, however, did not disturb the selection of the remaining 70 successful candidates but required Bansal to compete again by issuing the following direction: "However, he is entitled to compete with the other unsuccessful candidates for securing place in the merit and we, therefore, direct that Shri V. M. Bansal (respondent 8 along with the other unsuccessful candidates be again interviewed by the members of the 317 Commission except Shri J. R. Bansal (respondent 4 and whosoever is selected on merits shall have to be appointed against the post for which he is selected in accordance with the Rules. We may, however, observe that if Shri J. R. Bansal (respondent 8 is again selected on merits, he will be entitled to his original seniority and all other benefits of the Service which he would have enjoyed had his selection not been quashed. If in any case, no candidate is selected against the post of PCS cadre in accordance with the Rules, any of the other selected candidates may then make representation to the government for being appointed to the post of PCS in accordance with the Rules. "
(3.) Bansal is here before us to have the aforesaid direction quashed and Nerwal to have the place of Bansal as a Punjab Civil Service Officer.;