- (1.) Petitioner is working as a Constable in the Punjab Police. In this writ petition, he claims that the respondents should be directed to depute him to the Lower School Promotion Course (hereinafter referred to as Promotion Course), which had commenced from 20.05.2004.
(2.) The petitioner states that two seats were allocated to district Muktsar, where the petitioner is serving, for the Promotion Course. A test was held for selecting constables for admission to the Course and in the said test, one Constable Sukhdev Singh was the first in order of merit and the petitioner obtained second rank. Respondent no. 4, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste category, obtained a rank of 16 in the overall merit. The respondents deputed Constable Sukhdev Singh, who was at Sr.No. 1 in the merit and respondent No. 4 to the Lower School Course. Respondent no. 4 was deputed on the basis of reservation for Scheduled Castes in seats in the Promotion Course.
(3.) The petitioner has filed this writ petition raising a two fold grievance. His first grievance is that Constable Sukhdev Singh, who stood first in merit and who was deputed to the Course, did not actually join. Since the candidate at Sr.No. 1 did not join, the petitioner who was at Sr.No. 2, was entitled to be deputed to the said Course. Alternatively, the petitioner submits that even if the candidate at Sr.No. 1 joined, yet there could not be any reservation while sending the constables to undergo the Lower School Course. Hence the action of the respondents in deputing respondent no. 4 on the basis of his belonging to the reserved category is against law and is liable to be set aside. Consequently, the petitioner is entitled to be deputed to the Lower School Course against the second seat, against which respondent no. 4 has been sent.;