JAI NARAIN RAMversusSTATE OF U.P. AND ORS.

A                              JAi NARAIN RAM
                                        v.
                           STATE OF U.P. AND ORS.

                             NOVEMBER 16, 1995

B               [K. RAMASWAMY AND B.L. HANSARIA, JJ.]

          S e1vice law :

         Appointment-Posts rese1ved for S. C. candidates-Public Se1vice Com-
C mission recommending 4 names-No waiting list maintained since there was
    no request from Govemment-All the four selected candidates not joining
    se1vice-Candidate within the next four in the merit list approaching the
    Court-Since his tum could be covered in the four vacancies adve1tised, he
    should be recommended by the Public Se1vice Commission.and appointed
    by the Govemment-Directions issued-Right to appointment-Constitution
D   of lndia-A1ticles 14 and 16.

          An advertisement was issued in 1988 for filling up certain vacancies
    including 15 posts in the Treasury Officers- Accounts Officers in U.P.
    Finance and Accounts Service. Out of the said 15 posts, 4 were reserved
    for Scheduled Caste candidates. The State Public Service Commission
E
    recommended the names of four candidates. The appellant and. three
    others could not be recommended, as there was no request from the
    Government for keeping a waiting list. The appellant approached the High
    Court for a writ of mandamus or. direction to the Public Service Commis-
    sion to recommend his name for appointment in the Accounts Service. The
F   High Court dismissed the writ petition on the ground that the petitioner
    was not intimated that he was selected. Aggrieved against the High Court's
    order the appellant preferred the present appeal.

         Allowing the appeal, this Court
G         HELD : 1.1. It is not in dispute that the appellant is a reserved
    candidate belonging to Scheduled Castes. In view of the admitted position
    that four posts were reserved in the Finance Department and the 4 !)elected
    candidates appeared to ·have not joined the service, it is clear that the
    appellant also is the 4th candidate in the order of merit would have been
H   selected, had there been a requisition by the State Government for appoint-
                                       444
                            J.N. RAM v. STATE                             445

ment of the reserved candidates. (447-B-C]                                       A
      1.2. Right to seek appointment to a post under Article 14 read with
Articles 16(1) and (4) is a constitutional right to equality. The State failed
to perform its constitutional duty to requisition the P.S.C. to recommend
the next qualified persons to the posts reserved for Scheduled Castes.
Under these circumstances, the denial of appointment to the appellant and        B
three others above him is unc::mstitutional. Therefore, the respondents are
not justified in denying the claim of the appellant for appointment to the
above post. The P.S.C. is, therefore, directed to recommend the name of
the appellant for appointment in the first category, i..e. Treasury Officers
and Accounts Officers, within a period of six weeks from the date of the         c
receipt of the order and the State is directed to issue order of appointment
to the appellant within a period of six weeks thereafter. (447-C-F]

        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 11314 of
1995.
                                                                                 D
     From the Judgment and Order dated 4.12.92 of the Allahabad High
Court in Civil Misc. W.P. No. Nil of 1992.

        R.K. Jain, M.A. Rahman and M.R. Bidsar, for the Appellant.

        AB. Rohtagi, R.B. Misra and M.K. Roy for the Respondents.                E
        The following Order of the Court was delivered :

        Leave granted.

      We have heard the learned counsel for the appellant and the State. F
For the recruitment in the 15 posts of Treasury Officers- Accounts Officers
in U.P. Finance and Accounts Services, Sales Tax Officers (6 posts) and
Regional Audit Officers (4 posts) advertisement was made in 1988. Out of
15 posts in the Treasury Officers-Accounts Officers in U.P. Finance and
Accounts Service, 4 posts were reserved for members of the Scheduled
Castes. It would appear that as a result of Competitive examination con- G
ducted by the P.S.C., the last candidate selected for these 4 posts was one
Anil Kumar Rai who secured 361 marks in written examination and 39
marks in persc iality test out of 400 marks. The P.S.C. had recommended
the names of four candidates. As a result, the appellant and three others
- one Balkesh Singh, Bali Ram Prasad, Amar Singh, who secured 347 + 53 H
    446                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995) SUPP. 5 S.C.R.              ....
A   (total 400 marks), 344 + 56 (total 400 marks), 360 + 39 (total 399 marks)
    and the appellant 351+48 (total 399 marks), could not be recommended,
    as there was no request by the Government for putting them in the waiting
    list. Since they could not be appointed, the appellant had approached the
    High Court for a writ of mandamus or direction to the P.S.C. to recom-
    mend his name for appointment in the Accounts Service. The High Court
B   dismissed the writ petition No. nil of 1992 by order dated December 4,
    1992 on the ground that the petitioner was not intimated that he was
    selected. Since there was no information that he was put in the select list,
    direction could not be given to appoint him as Accounts Officer in Ac-
    counts Service.
c
          In the counter-affidavit filed by the P.S.C., it was stated that since
    four posts were reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the last candidate
    Anil Kumar Rai was already selected and recommended for appointment, .
    and as there was no request by the State Government for preparation of
    waiting list for the vacant posts reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the
D   names of the appellant and the aforestated three persons could not be
    recommended for appointment. It is stated in the counter- affidavit filed
    by Behari Lal, Special Secretary, Karmik Anubhag Secretariat, U.P. that
    since the appellant was not recommended nor found qualified for appoint-
    ment, he could not claim any appointment.
E
          In para 11 of the Special Leave Petition, a specific stand has been
   taken in paragraph 11 that the four candidates selected by the P.S.C.,
   namely, Ram Bodh, Roll No. 22142, Serial No. 13, Lolark Ram Roll No.
   442, SL No. 23, Ram Daras Chandrahas, Roll No. 2301, S~. No. 24, and
  ·Raja Ram, Roll No. 1787, Sl. No. 30, though selected and recommended
F for appointment in the first category, did not join in the service. As a
   consequence, 4 posts were left vacant and required to be filled up by the
   reserved candidates. Since the appellant is the 4th candidate among the
   candidates who were standing in the order of merit, rejection of appellant's
   claim for appointment is illegal and unconstitutional.
G
          In the counter affidavit of Bihari Lal, it is stated in para 6 thus :

             "That the contents of paras 11 & 12 of the S.L.P. relates to the
             Finance Deptt., therefore need no comments of answering respon-
             dent. However, it is submitted that reserved posts can be filled by
H            the candidates of reserved categories only."
                             J.N. RAM v. STATE                               447

In other words, there is no denial of the aforestated four candidates not           A
joining in the Finance Department. It is submitted that it would be filled
up by reserved candidates.

       It is not in dispute that the appellant is a reserved candidate belong-
ing to Scheduled Castes. In view of the admitted position that four posts
were reserved in the Finance Department in category 1 mentioned earlier             B
and 4 selected candidates appeared to have not joined in the service, as
asserted in para 11 of the S.L.P. and not specifically denied by the respon-
dents in the counter-affidavit in para 6 as referred to earlier, it is clear that
the appellant also is the 4th candidate in the order of merit would have
been selected, had there been a requisition by the State Government for             C
appointment of the reserved candidates.

      Right to seek appointment to a post under Article 14 read with
Articles 16(1) and (4) is a constitutional right to equality. The State failed
to perform its constitutional duty to requisition the P.S.C. to recommend
the next qualified persons to the posts reserved for scheduled castes. D
Under these circumstances, the denial of appointment to the appellant and
three others above him is unconstitutional. Therefore, the respondents are
not justified in denying the claim of the appellant for the appointment to
the above post.

      The P.S.C. is, therefore, directed to recommend the name of the               E
appellant for appointment in the first category, i.e. Treasury Officers and
Accounts Officers, within a period of six weeks from the date of the receipt
of the order and the State is directed to issue order of appointment to the
appellant within a period of six weeks thereafter.

       The appeal is accordingly allowed. No costs.
                                                                                    F

G.N.                                                           Appeal allowed.