Kapil Dev vs State Of Haryana And Ors on 12 December, 2014

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Punjab-Haryana High Court

Kapil Dev vs State Of Haryana And Ors on 12 December, 2014

Bench: Rameshwar Singh Malik

Civil Writ Petition No. 25502 of 2014                                 1

     IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
                      AT CHANDIGARH

                                Civil Writ Petition No. 25502 of 2014
                                Date of Decision: 12.12.2014



Kapil Dev
                                               ....Petitioner

                            Versus



State of Haryana and others

                                               .....Respondents.

CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAMESHWAR SINGH MALIK

Present : Mr. Parveen Kumar Rohilla, Advocate
          for the petitioner.

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1.Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
2. To be referred to the Reporters or not?
3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?

              ****

RAMESHWAR SINGH MALIK J. (Oral)

Petitioner impugns the selection for the post of Assistant Lineman, which was finalised vide communication dated 20.4.2010 (Annexure P-3). Petitioner also seeks a writ in the nature of Mandamus, directing the respondent authorities to take legal action against the erring officers/officials for not supplying him the information sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005 ('RTI Act' for short).

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that 77 posts of AMIT KUMAR 2014.12.19 10:23 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document Civil Writ Petition No. 25502 of 2014 2 Assistant Lineman reserved for the category of Outstanding Sports Persons ('OSP' for short) were filled up by recruiting the candidates of General Category. To substantiate his arguments, learned counsel for the petitioner places reliance on the instructions dated 20.7.1995 (Annexure P-4), to contend that in case the eligible candidates from the OSP category were not available, the posts could not have been filled up from the General Category candidates. Trying to find fault in the order passed by the State Information Commission, Haryana, Annexure P-11, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that an appropriate direction be issued to take penal action against the erring officers/officials who did not supply the information sought by the petitioner. He prays for allowing the present writ petition.

Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioner at considerable length, after careful perusal of record of the case and giving thoughtful consideration to the arguments advanced, this Court is of the considered opinion that present one has not been found to be a fit case for exercising its writ jurisdiction under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India, at the hands of this Court. To say so, reasons are more than one, which are being recorded hereinafter.

Petitioner himself belongs to the General Category. Claiming himself to be an eligible candidate, he applied for the post of Assistant Lineman pursuant to the advertisement Annexure P-1. Petitioner did not challenge the selection criteria at any point of time. In fact, the petitioner is not challenging the selection criteria even in the present writ petition. The only grievance of the petitioner is that since sufficient number of sports persons were not availableAMIT soKUMAR as to 2014.12.19 10:23 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document Civil Writ Petition No. 25502 of 2014 3 fill up 77 posts of the said category, remaining posts of Reserved Category of OSP should not have been filled up from the General Category candidates.

Admittedly, there was no bar to fill up the posts of Reserved Category of OSP from the General Category, in the eventuality of non-availability of sufficient number of eligible persons of the said reserved category. Instructions Annexure P-4 is not applicable in the present case, because the said category of OSP is conspicuously missing from the instructions. A particular reserved category which is not part of the instructions cannot be read into it.

Further, petitioner himself belongs to General Category and the remaining posts of OSP category have been filled up from amongst the General Category candidates. Had the petitioner secured sufficient marks in the selection process, he would have also been benefited from the action taken by the respondents, while filling up left over vacancies of the OSP category from amongst the General Category candidates. However, since the petitioner could not make the benchmark, he had no case either in law or on facts.

So far as the grievance of the petitioner under the RTI Act is concerned, he never challenged the order dated 6.10.2010 passed by the State Information Commission, Haryana. In fact, neither this order is under challenge in the present case, nor the State Information Commission has been impleaded as party-respondent. In the absence of the any challenge to the said order, nothing can be presumed in favour of the petitioner and no relief can be granted to him in this regard. AMIT KUMAR 2014.12.19 10:23 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document Civil Writ Petition No. 25502 of 2014 4 No other argument was raised.

Considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case noted above, coupled with the reasons aforementioned, this Court is of the considered view that present writ petition is misconceived, bereft of merit and without any substance. Thus, it must fail. No case for interference has been made out.

Resultantly, instant writ petition stands dismissed, however, with no order as to costs.

(RAMESHWAR SINGH MALIK) JUDGE 12.12.2014 AK Sharma AMIT KUMAR 2014.12.19 10:23 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

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