- (1.) THIS writ petition has been filed by the petitioner seeking to question the validity of Rule 11 (b) of the Rajasthan Police Subordinate Service Rules, 1989 ('the Rules'), which provides for cut-off date as on 1st day of January next following the last date fixed for receipt of applications regarding age of the candidate.
(2.) THE facts in brief are that a notification dated 14.07.2013 was issued by the Director General of Police, Rajasthan, Jaipur for filling up the vacancies, inter alia, on the post of Constable. The notification, inter alia, provided for the age limit in terms of Rule 11(b) of the Rules and provided that the age shall be calculated as on 01.01.2014. The date of birth of the petitioner is 10.10.1990 and, therefore, obviously he would be beyond the upper age limit as prescribed in the Rules. The provisions of Rule 11 of the Rules, in so far as relevant, reads as under:- "11. Age:- A candidate for direct recruitment to the services must have attained- (a).... (b) for the post of Constables, the age of 18 years and must not have attained the age of 23 years on 1st day of January next following the last date fixed for receipt of applications. However the upper age-limit for Constable (Driver) shall be 27 years."
(3.) IT is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that fixing a cut-off date for determining the maximum age with reference to the 1st January following the year, in which, the applications were invited, is per se arbitrary as the petitioner is within age limit on the last date of filing the application form and he would be deprived of applying for the post of Constable on account of an arbitrary provision in the Rules. It was further submitted that the provision simultaneously provides for minimum age of 18 years on the 1st January following the date the applications have been invited, which necessarily means that a person who is minor on the date of filing application would be rendered eligible and may seek appointment in case the recruitment exercise is over before the cut-off date fixed in the advertisement and, consequently, the provision deserves to be struck down.;