ARIJIT PASAYAT, J. - (1.) LEAVE granted.
(2.) CHALLENGE in these appeals is to the judgment of Punjab and Haryana High Court allowing the Civil Writ Petitions filed by non official respondents. Background facts in a nutshell are as follows: The Subordinate Services Selection Board (hereinafter referred to as the 'Board') issued an advertisement dated 7.11.1992 calling for applications for filling up 1248 posts of Patwar candidates to be deputed to the Patwar Training School and on completion of training, for appointment as Patwaris. Appellants had applied for the said posts. The list of the selected candidates was finalized and displayed from which it transpired that against the advertised posts 2395, candidates had been recommended by the Board for admission to the Patwar Training School. One of the writ petitioners filed an application to the Board asking for the supply of details of the performance of the selected candidates, but those were not given. The selection was impugned in the writ petitions on several grounds. It was pointed out that the selection beyond the advertised posts was bad in law, the marks for performance in the interview were to be restricted to 15% whereas in the present case 25 marks were allotted for the interview and 10 marks were given for handwriting. It was submitted that a similar provision made for selection for Patwari candidates was quashed by the High Court in Satpal Singh and Ors. v. State of Haryana (1995 (3) SLR 787) and the judgment was affirmed by this Court in Satpal and Ors. v. State of Haryana and Ors. (1995 Supp (1) SCC 206). It was emphasized that the criteria for selection was not only designed to give undue weightage to viva voce and to bye-pass the observations in Satpal Singh's case (supra), it was even otherwise unsustainable as the guidelines were framed on 19.5.1993, whereas the process of interview had started on the very next date. There was room for manipulation as the records pertaining to all candidates were with the Board well before 19.5.1993. The then Chief Minister Ch. Bhajan Lal on 26.5.1994 in a meeting held in his Assembly Constituency of Adampur had clearly stated that promise of one post of Patwari to each family has been made possible. This had influenced the selection which is clearly reflected from the fact that large number of candidates were selected from the Adampur and Kalka Assembly constituencies represented by Ch. Bhajan Lal and his son Sh. Chander Mohan. Stand of the Board was that though 1248 posts were advertised, 485 candidates who had been earlier selected as a consequence of the advertisement dated 19.3.1987 out of which 377 candidates had cleared the course had been given appointment. It was also pointed out that this selection had been challenged in Satpal Singh's case (supra) and the selection and appointment had been quashed and SLP Nos. 2944-45 of 1993 filed by the State of Haryana had been dismissed by this Court by judgment dated 14.9.1993 with liberty to the 485 candidates to participate in a fresh selection. Therefore, after the advertisement 485 posts were available. It vacant every year and the advertisement was issued in the year 1992. The projected demands for two years i.e. 1993 and 1994 were taken note of. Further, as a substantial percentage of Patwaris candidates could not clear the Patwar Training School course, therefore, the same was also taken into account and ultimately the total number of candidates was fixed. It was pointed out that selection pursuant to the advertisement made in 1987 was quashed on the ground that 85% of the marks was reserved for interview, which was considered excessive. The Board had revised the criteria to bring it within the framework of Satpal Singh's case (supra) and had accordingly reduced the marks for the interview from 85% to 25%. It was also stated that the allegation about the then Chief Minister influencing the selection was unfounded. It was also pointed out that it is not a fact that nearly 500 candidates from Adampur and 300 candidates from Kalka had been selected, as only 350 candidates from district Hisar which included Adampur constituency and 150 candidates from Ambala of which Kalka constituency was a part amongst the first 1200 candidates and this was because of the large number of applications from that area i.e. about 19000 from Hisar and 6000 from Ambala district.
(3.) A separate reply was filed by the Chief Minister who stated that his speech was being read out of context. The High Court found that perhaps there was no serious flaw in the fact that candidates beyond the advertised 1248 posts had been selected. But it was found that the other points had merit.;