- (1.) In the respondent department there is 10% quota for promotion to the post of Clerk in Class-III service from amongst Class-IV Water Carriers, Sweepers, Sewadars, Dhobis and Ward Attendants. To be qualified for consideration in the 10% reservation a Class-IV employee must hold the prescribed qualification of Matriculation pass with Punjabi subject with five years of regular service in Class-IV as a condition for eligibility. However, the Police Department, where the petitioners work, have issued instructions dated August 24, 1983 and October 27, 1998 vide which Punjabi/English typing test with speed of 30 words per minute was made condition precedent to qualify for promotion. Because of this condition, the Court is informed that no person has been promoted from Class-IV to Clerical cadre since the year 2008. As a result, there are vacancies lying unfilled from the 10% quota. The prevailing position is that though the rule does not provide for a test but the test is prescribed through executive instructions and in my opinion there is hardly anything offensive in this additional screening test applied as a qualifier. The aim is to bring up qualified rankers to promotional level as Clerks better equipped to discharge the duties and responsibilities of the higher post which entails office typing work. The petitioners claim that there are 46 posts of Clerks available to Class-IV employees in the cadre of Clerks. The service rules governing the conditions of service, recruitment and promotion to the post of Clerk are known as the Punjab Police Clerical Service (State Service Class-III), Rules, 1960 ("1960 Rules").
(2.) The first exercise to fill up the 10% quota in the cadre of Clerks from the category of the petitioners since the year 2008 was initiated on July 17, 2015 and they were called for a typewriting test. This circular inter alia prescribes the passing of a typing test in Punjabi.
(3.) Aggrieved by the notice calling applications, the petitioners filed a representation with the Department on July 28, 2015. The petitioners assert and say that the representation remains unattended so far nor have they been promoted despite passage of years of service in Class-IV. It is argued that instructions cannot supersede the statutory rules which do not prescribe the test as a qualification for eligibility. Can the department prescribe such a test is the question raised in this case.;