S.R.Singh, J. - (1.) In the Instant petition, the petitioner appeared in the U. P. State Combined Service Examination 1978, conducted by the U. P. Public Service Commission, Allahabad (hereinafter referred to as the 'Commission'). By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner has sought for a writ of mandamus directing the Commission to declare his result on the basis that the first three optional subjects offered by him in the said examination, were (i) Pure Mathematics, (ii) Ancient Indian Culture and (iii) Lower Chemistry and if necessary, to recommend the petitioner's name to the State Government for appointment in the Accounts Group of the Combined Services for which the petitioner had indicated the aforesaid optional subjects.
(2.) I have heard Sri Pradeep Kumar counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri Vinod Misra, counsel appearing for the Commission. 1 have also heard the learned Standing counsel for the State of U. P. It is not disputed before me that the candidates appearing in the said examination were required to submit their applications in the prescribed proforma which was in three parts. The first part of the application form was titled as 'Pariksha Vibbag Lok Sewa Ayog Uttar Pradesh Avcdan Patra ; the second form a constituent of the first form w-as titled as 'Pariksha Vibbag Sanlagna Avedan Patra Ka Saransh" and the third, a constituent of the form was titled as 'selection form combined State Service Examination 1978'. These forms were produced in original before me by Sri Vinod Misra for perusal on 17-7-1991. On a perusal of the aforesaid forms, I found that in Column No. 2 of the last of the aforesaid forms, the heading under General Group is "any four optional subjects are to be indicated." The options were to be indicated in such order that the first three optional subjects would be considered for the post in the Accounts Group. In this column, the petitioner had described the optional subjects in the following order : (i) Pure Mathematics, (ii) Ancient Indian Culture (iii) Lower Chemistry (iv) Indian Philosophy. There was no cutting or over-writing visible in the description of the optional subjects in summary form and selection form i. e. the last of the two forms stated hereinbefore. There was some over-writing in the description of the subjects in the first of the three forms referred to above which is also known as application form. It may be pertinent to mention that in this form, digits, 1, 2, 3 and 4 were printed and against there digits, the optional subjects were to be described. According to the petitioner, he made a mistake in marshaling the optional subjects in order of his preference in the application form and in a bid to correct the mistake in tune with the order described in the last of the two forms referred to above, he scored out the printed digits and replaced them by digits so written in his own hand as to represent the optional subjects in same order as they were mentioned in the selection form as indicated hereinbefore. According to the learned counsel appearing for the Commission these changes were made after the submission of the application in which the original summary form and selection form were replaced by new forms describing the optional subjects in order of preference indicated above, in connivance with some official of the Commission for which an enquiry was initiated. A perusal of the order-sheet in the case indicates that the case was adjourned several times in order to enable the Commission to apprise the Court of the result of the enquiry but surprisingly, the skeleton in the cup-board is yet to tumble out. It was in the back drop of this situation that original forms were summoned and perused by me in the presence of the learned counsel for the parties.
(3.) I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and I am of the opinion that the version of the petitioner in regard to description of the optional subjects in the first form namely, the application form, is reasonably possible inasmuch as the order in which he claims to have described the optional subjects in application form, is In tune with the last of the three forms namely the selection form in which the options of the subjects were to be indicated for a post in the Accounts Group. That being so. the Commission was not justified in not accounting the marks obtained by the petitioner for Accounts Group of service in order of preference of the subjects indicated by him in the selection Form which was exclusively meant for the Accounts group of services. It being not disputed before me by the learned counsel for the respondents that if the marks obtained by the petitioner in Pure Mathematics, Ancient Indian Culture and Lower Chemistry had been taken into account, he would have been selected and appointed against the posts in the Accounts Group.;