S.P. Goyal, J. - (1.) Petitioner Gurdev Singh has filed this petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing order, Annexure P 2 and Notification P - 3.
(2.) The case set up by him is that the appointment to the Punjab Forest Service Class II can be made only in, accordance with the Punjab Forest Service Class II, Rules, 1941. Rule 7 (a) ' provides that an accepted candidate for direct appointment will be required to undergo training for six months under a Divisional Forest officer including a physical test of a journey of 20 miles on foot over hilly contrary in six hours in such forests and as respondents Nos. 3 to 6 never completed this training, their appointment vide Annexure P - 2 had been made in violation of the said provisions. Annexure P - 3 is a notification where by the Rules were amended retrospectively. Its validity has been challenged on the ground that it has the effect of making the said' respondents eligible for appointment retrospectively. The learned counsel for the parties are agreed that it is not necessary to go into this matter as the writ petition is liable to be dismissed as premature because of the decision on the first point.
(3.) In the written statement filed by the State, it has been averred that there are 15 permanent posts in the cadre but 'here appears to be some typographical mistake because in the appendix of the Rules, the number of the posts mentioned is 16. The learned counsel for the State also admits it to be so. Annexure P - 2, on the face of it does not show that the said respondents have been appointed to the Service. As a matter of fact, this is an order only deputing them to training which is required under rule 7 of the Rules. The learned counsel for the petitioner, however, produced at the time of the arguments, notification dated April 29, 1976 which shows that the said respondents have been appointed as temporary Punjab Forest Service Class II Officers on probation for a period of two years. This order also does not show that they have been appointed to the Service which only consists of 16 permanent posts. Respondent Nos. 3 to 6 in their written statement have also stated on oath that their appointment as temporary Class II Officers was not appointment to the service because the vice consists of only permanent posts under the said Rules.;