- (1.) What is sought to be challenged in this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is the action of the Punjab State Agricultural marketing Board (for short 'the Board') in not appointing the petitioner as a Junior Engineer against one'of the posts reserved for a scheduled caste though he stood selected for the same. His grievance is that respondents 3 to 22 who had applied for the general category posts and were selected along with the petitioner have been issued the appointment letters and he has challenged those order as well.
(2.) The undisputed facts are that by an advertisement issued on July 21, 1986 the Board advertised 15 posts of Junior Engineers in the Pay scale of Rs. 700-1200 which number was later increased to 20. The qualification prescribed for the posts was a three year diploma in Civil Engineering from the State Board of Technical Education. The Board follows the Policy of the State Government in tie matter of reservation of posts for scheduled castes and other categories according to which 25 percent of the posts are to be filled up by persons belonging to scheduled castes and in a roster of 100 vacancies the posts at points 1,5,9,13,17,21,29,33 and so on are reserved for this category of persons. The petitioner applied for one of this reserved post and was -selected along with respondents 3 to 22 belonged to the general and other categories. During the pendency of this petition, the petitioner too has been given the appointment as sectional Officer (Junior Engineer) against the backlog of posts reserved for scheduled castes as per office order No. 416 dated November 10, 1989. The only grievance of the petitioner that now survives is that he should be given seniority according to the roster point against which he has been appointed. I have heard his counsel in this regard and find substance in his claim. Since the petitioner has been appointed against the backlog of posts reserved for scheduled castes, he is entitled to seniority as per the roster point against which he has been appointed. I order accordingly, there will be no order as to costs.Order accordingly;