Tejinder Singh Dhindsa, J. - (1.) THE Petitioner has filed the instant writ petition impugning the action of the respondent - Department of Health and Family Welfare, State of Punjab holding her as ineligible for the post of Staff Nurse. Brief facts that would require notice are that the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab issued a public notice dated 26.7.2011 inviting applications from the eligible candidates for recruitment to various posts in the Health Department including 602 posts of Staff Nurses. The qualifications and other details prescribed for the post were in the following terms:
(2.) YET another specific stipulation was to the effect that only those candidates who have passed Punjabi subject in Matriculation or above are eligible to apply. The eligible applicants were required to submit applications on -line upto 19.8.2011. The advertisement clearly stipulated that the Department does not have any mechanism to check the certificates of the candidates who are applying on -line and if at any stage, the certificate of the candidate is found fictitious/bogus or is ineligible, the candidature of such candidate would be cancelled. The petitioner, who belongs to the General Category, asserts that she submitted her application for the post of Staff Nurse on 16.8.2011 and was allotted Registration No. 28108045. Thereafter, the petitioner appeared in the written examination in which she obtained 62.40 marks and as such, figured at Serial No. 24. Thereafter, the counselling process was fixed for 18.1.2012 in which the petitioner duly appeared. The precise grievance of the petitioner which has necessitated the filing of the present writ petition is that the Department of Health and Family Welfare has published a list of candidates on 28.3.2012, Annexure P 6, whereby she has been held "not eligible - Punjabi passed in March 2012."
(3.) I have heard Dr. ML Sachdeva, learned counsel for the petitioner at length.;