- (1.) This judgment shall dispose of this Writ Petition and six other C.W.P. Nos. 959, 3342, 3343, 3857, 4238 and 4253 of 1988 in which common questions of fact and law are involved.
(2.) The petitioners, who are 24 in number, are Advocates practising in the District Courts at Ludhiana. They are aggrieved against the appointment of Sarvshri Jagatjit Singh Grewal, Balwinder Singh Goel, Ashok Kumar Jain and Parmajit Singh, Advocates of Ludhiana, as Notaries Public at Ludhiana, under the Notaries Act, 1952, by order of the State Government dated 12th January, 1988.
(3.) The State Government issued a notification dated 12th May, 1987, inviting applications from the persons who had been practising as legal practioners in district Ludhiana for at least ten years, for four posts of Notaries in the district. The applications were to be submitted to and forwarded by the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, who was designated as the Competent Authority for the district of Ludhiana under Rule 4 of the Notaries Rules, 1956. In response thereto, 58 persons in all submitted their applications. The Competent Authority invited objections under Rule 6 of the Notaries Rules within 14 days of the date of publication of the notification. No objection whatsoever was received against any applicant. However, on a reference made by the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, the District and Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, recommended a panel of ten Advocates out of the aforesaid 58 applicants. Thereupon, the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, on 6th November, 1987, forwarded a panel of 13 Advocates to the Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala for appointment of four persons against the four posts of Notaries. This list of 13 persons consisted of 10 persons recommended by the District and Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, and 3 persons added by the Deputy Commissioner. However, the Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala on 13th November, 1987 returned this panel to the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana requiring him to recommend only four names against the four posts of Notaries. In reply thereto, the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, on 17th November, 1987 finally recommended the names of the following four persons : (1) Sh. Satwant Singh Dhaliwal; (2) Sh. Ashok Kumar Jain; (3) Sh. Nirmal Singh Baweja, and (4) Sh. Paramjit Singh.;