Alok Sharma, J. - (1.) THE petitioner having lost out in the competition with the respondent No. 5 for appointment to the post of Associate Professor (Kriya Sharir) in the Madan Mohan Government Ayurved College, Udaipur pursuant to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (hereinafter "RPSC") advertisement dated 26.02.2014 has filed this writ petition. Obviously the relief prayed for is that the appointment of respondent No. 5 be quashed and the petitioner as No. 1 in the waiting list notified by the RPSC be appointed.
(2.) THE RPSC advertised one post for appointment as Associate Professor (Kriya Sharir) with Madan Mohan Government Ayurved College, Udaipur on 26.02.2014. The eligibility prescribed was graduation, post graduation in Ayurveda and five years teaching experience as reader/associate professor. The advertisement also indicated that it was desirable if the prospective candidates had done some research work, had some scholarship to show by way of articles published in journals relating to the subject and proof of having contributed to innovation in designing of new courses and curriculum. Pursuant to the advertisement dated 26.02.2014, twenty eight candidates applied for consideration to the said post in issue. No written examination was involved. The candidates who presented themselves before the RPSC on call, were interviewed on 03.12.2014. The result was declared on 04.12.2014 where the respondent No. 5 was found the most meritorious and so selected and appointed. The petitioner was placed at serial No. 1 in the waiting list. Counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the application form submitted by the respondent No. 5 was liable to be rejected at the threshold by RPSC for reason of the respondent No. 5 allegedly having supplied misinformation with regard to his employment with the Government of Rajasthan. It has been further submitted that the respondent No. 5 did not comply with the guidelines of RPSC in failing to submit a NOC from his current employer i.e. State of Uttarakhand to apply for and participate in the selection process. It has been further submitted that the respondent No. 5 did not have a Ph.D, nor had any research work and scholarship credentials as against the petitioner possessing the "aforesaid" and in the circumstances the appointment of the respondent No. 5 on the post in issue over the petitioner was wholly arbitrary and unfair. It has been emphasized that since the respondent No. 5 had wrongly indicated in the online application form that he was at the relevant time working as a Rajasthan Government employee, the said fact went a long way in the selection of the respondent No. 5 over the petitioner. It has been finally submitted that the respondent No. 5 was not registered with the Board of Indian Medicines, Rajasthan and therefore also not liable to be considered or selected, as has done by RPSC in the result declared on 04.12.2014, for appointment to the post of Associate Professor (Kriya Sharir).
(3.) COUNSEL for RPSC has submitted that one post for appointment as Associate Professor (Kriya Sharir) was advertised. It was a post open to all candidates irrespective of their category or employment history except to the extent of requisite experience. In this context, the issue of the applicant in his online application indicating himself as a Rajasthan Government Employee was quite irrelevant. Further that appears to have been a mistake which in any event stood rectified by a more detailed application subsequently filled in and submitted by the respondent No. 5 along with others as required by RPSC wherein the factum of the respondent No. 5's employment with the State of Uttarakhand was categorically stated. It has been submitted that the information with regard to employment within the State of Rajasthan or outside was not material to the evaluation of a candidate for the post of Associate Professor (Kriya Sharir) nor in fact with it reckoned at all in the evaluation of the comparative merit of the competing candidates. It has also been submitted that no NOC from the erstwhile employer of the candidates was mandatorily required for the post in issue, nor was it a part of terms and conditions set out in the advertisement dated 26.02.2014. The requirement was that in service candidates were to inform their respective head of department when applying to the post. But even that condition was merely directory in nature without any relevance to the evaluation of merit of the candidates who applied for consideration for appointment to the post of Associate Professor (Kriya Sharir). It has been further submitted that there was no requirement in the advertisement that for appointment to the post of Associate Professor (Kriya Sharir), the candidate should be registered with the Board of Indian Medicines, Rajasthan.;