Jammu & Kashmir High Court
Mridulla Kirti And Others vs High Court Of J&K And Others on 20 September, 2023
Author: Rahul Bharti
Bench: Rahul Bharti
192
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT JAMMU
WP(C) No. 2440/2023
CM No. 5744/2023
Mridulla Kirti and others .....Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s)
Through: Mr. Abhinav Sharma, Sr. Advocate with
Ms. Sabha Atiq, Advocate.
Vs
High Court of J&K and others .....Respondent(s)
Through: Mr. Adiya Gupta, Advocate for R-1
Mr. Raman Sharma, AAG for R-2
Mrs. Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG for R-3
Mr. F. A. Natnoo, Advocate for R-4.
Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAHUL BHARTI, JUDGE
ORDER
20.09.2023
1. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Commission (JKPSC) has set into course a recruitment process for 69 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Subordinate Judiciary under the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service (Judicial) Recruitment Rules, 1967. For the said purpose, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission has issued an advertisement vide its Notification no. 38-PSC(DR-P) of 2023 dated 27.08.2023. In terms of this advertisement, the minimum and maximum age for a candidate to apply for joining the selection process is to be reckoned with reference to 01.01.2023 and by that reference the minimum age prescribed is 18 years and maximum age 35 years. 2 WP(C) No. 2440/2023
2. Last date for submission of the application forms for eligible candidates came to be 17.09.2023. The date of preliminary examination is scheduled to be on 08.10.2023 and thereupon the competitive mains examination is scheduled to be from 08.11.2023 to 19.11.2023.
3. Twenty three (23) petitioners have joined together to be the writ petitioners in the present writ petition before this Court bearing an issue with prescription of maximum age of 35 years as on 01.01.2023 required for appearing in the current recruitment process.
4. All the writ petitioners, claim themselves eligible except for the upper age limit in terms of their academic credentials. In fact, some of them even claim to be in practice of law by reference to their date of enrolment as an advocate.
5. The petitioners' issue with the upper age prescription is that prior to the aforementioned recruitment notification, the last recruitment related notification for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division)/Munsiff was issued in the year 2019 when Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission had sought to undertake a recruitment exercise by issuance of selection advertisement vide Notification no. PSC/Exam/2018-19/4 dated 09.10.2019 for 24 posts which however came to be aborted by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission in terms of a communication no. GAD(Adm) 59/2019-1 dated 21.11.2019 from the General Administration Department (GAD Government of J&K to the J&K Public Service Commission).
3 WP(C) No. 2440/2023
6. Thus, for the years 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022, there was no recruitment exercise undertaken by the Government of UT of Jammu & Kashmir and Public Service Commission for the selection to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division)/Munsiff and as such the petitioners did not have an opportunity to appear in a competition meant for selection to the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division)/Munsiff while they were still in the prescribed age limit in the aforementioned missed out years.
7. The petitioners' plead in the writ petition that all of them had responded to the advertisement notification no. PSC/Exam/2018-19/4 dated 09.10.2019 in which also the maximum age limit was 35 years and all the petitioners were within that age limit eligible to apply and compete for the selection but came to be deprived of an occasion and opportunity to prove their merit for selection because of the fact that the selection/recruitment exercise was aborted without the petitioners having any role in the decision of the General Administration Department Government of J&K in not carrying forward the recruitment process with respect to said 2019 notification. Now, when the petitioners have come across with the next available opportunity in the form of present notification dated 27.08.2023 issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission for 69 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division)/Munsiff in which are included 24 posts of last notification dated 09.10.2019, the petitioners feel themselves robbed off an opportunity to compete for the selection process just because they are found to be now 4 WP(C) No. 2440/2023 over 35 years of age and that they have not become over age by their own choice to suffer denial of opportunity which has come to them now.
8. It is in this background, the petitioners are seeking their participation in the ongoing selection process by having the indulgence of this Court on its judicial side in the face of the fact that on its administrative side the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has turned down the plea to grant any age relaxation in favour of the petitioners.
9. Mr. Abhinav Sharma, the learned senior counsel for the petitioners submits that a scenario obtaining in the present writ petition came to be so obtained before the High Court of Delhi with respect to recruitment process in Delhi Judicial Services in the year 2022 taking place after a miss of two recruitment years i.e. of 2020 and 2021 and the matter landed before Hon'ble the Supreme Court of India resulting in a judgment in case of "High Court of Delhi Vs. Devina Sharma" in which Hon'ble the Supreme Court in para-18 of the judgment summed up the situation in the following manner which is reproduced as under:
"18. Having regard to the fact that the recruitment examination for DJS has been last held in 2019 and two recruitment years have elapsed in the meantime, we are of the view that the suggestion of the High Court should be accepted for this year. The consequence of the acceptance of the suggestion by this Court, would be that candidates who would have fulfilled the upper age limit of 32 years, for the recruitment years 2020 and 2021 would be eligible 5 WP(C) No. 2440/2023 to participate in the examination for the ensuing recruitment year 2022. The age bar which they would now encounter is not of their own volition. The real element of hardship faced by such candidates has been remedied by the High Court and there is no reason for this court not to accept the suggestion. The examination cannot however, be postponed indefinitely nor can the candidates who have applied be left in a state of uncertainty. The existing candidates can have no grievance by the widening of the competition. In order to facilitate this exercise, we accept the suggestion of the High Court that the last date for the receipt of application forms shall be extended to 3 April 2022 and the examination shall be held on 24 April 2022. We direct that no impediment shall be caused in the conduct of the examination and no court shall issue any order of stay at variance with or contrary to the above directions of this Court."
10. In light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances and the spirit of the judgment of the Hon'ble the Supreme Court of India, learned counsel for the petitioners urge that the petitioners are the ones whose claim for participating in the selection process shall be entertained by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission by reference to their status vis- à-vis 2019 notification to which they had responded on account of being within the age prescribed.
11. Mr. Aditya Gupta, the learned counsel for the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is confronted by this Court with the aforementioned judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and the 6 WP(C) No. 2440/2023 parity of the situation obtaining in the present case with that of the case dealt with by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.
12. Mr. Aditya Gupta, learned counsel for the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh seeks time to apprise himself to the aforementioned judgment.
13. A copy of this judgment has been provided to Mr. Aditya Gupta, Advocate by the learned counsel for the petitioners.
14. Let Mr. Aditya Gupta, report response tomorrow.
15. List tomorrow i.e. on 21.09.2023.
(RAHUL BHARTI) JUDGE Jammu 20.09.2023 Shivalee