- (1.) A. K. Yog, J. Heard Sri Satish Chandra Misra, advocate, holding brief of Sri U. S. Tiwari, learned Counsel for the petitioners and Sri Manish Goel, advocate, on behalf of the sole respondent.
(2.) THE brief facts of the case are that petitioners (Mohd. Ilyas Khan, Santosh Kumar Pandey, Som Nath Rai and Jal Narain) claim to have been discharged from defence services-Indian Air Force w. e. f. 31-8- 1993, as stated in para 1 of the writ petition. Before their discharge from the defence services, petitioners applied against the advertisement dated 7-12-1992 issued by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (for short called 'the Corporation" ). The copy of the said advertisement is not on record of the case. Petitioners contended themselves by stating that the said advertisement being illegible is not being filed here. It could be shown to this Hon'ble Court at the time of arguments if so required'. Learned Counsel for the petitioners, however, failed to produce the legible copy of the advertisement in spite of this fact brought to the notice of this Court on last date of hearing, i. e. , 24-11-2000. Petitioners submit that they had received letters for appearing in the examination/interview proposed by the Corporation. It may be stated that these petitioners had applied for two different posts, namely - Assistant' and Typist' for which different dates were fixed for interview, etc. (See paras 4 to 6 of the writ petition ).
(3.) THE Corporation, according to the petitioners, illegally withheld appointment letters with an objection that petitioners were not ex-servicemen at the time of submitting their application or on the last date of submitting application in response to the advertisement. Consequently, petitioners, according to the Corporation, were not 'ex-servicemen', on the last date prescribed for submitting application i. e. 11-1- 1993 as ex-servicemen. Petitioners have annexed copy of notification of Ministry of Government of India dated 27th October, 1986, (An-nexure-2 to the writ petition ). Rule 2 Explanation clause of the said notification, relevant for the present case, is being quoted for ready reference: "explanation: The persons serving in the Armed Forces of the Union, who on retirement from service, would come under the category of 'ex-servicemen' may be permitted to apply for re-employment one year before the completion of the specified norms of engagement and avail themselves of all concession available to ex-servicemen but shall not be permitted to leave the uniform untill they complete the specified term of engagement in the Armed Forces of the Union. ";