# ' JAGJIT SINGH v. STATE OF PUNJAB

- **Citation:** [1978] 3 S.C.R. 547
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1978-03-28
- **Bench:** V. R. Krishna Iyer, Jaswant Singh, V. D. Tulzapurkar
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/jagjit-singh-v-state-of-punjab-7360
- **Pages:** 6

## Headnote

Service matter-Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branclt)-One out of six
posts for each year reserved for Scheduled Castes candidates-Appellant, a
Scheduled Caste candidate placed third in merit list of Scheduled Castes candidates-One of the two candidates resigned a year after appointment-Appellant
laid claim for resultant vacancy-If could be appointed-State Government
Circular-Scope e~plained.
Ih each of the two years of 1971 and 1972 there were six vacancies in the
Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch).
To select eligible candidates for
these 12 vacancies in the Punjab Civil Service and other vacaricies in the allied
services, after completion of the requisite formalities the State Service Com~
lnission held the competitive examination called the Punjab Civil Service and
Allied Services Examination in December 1972-January, 1973.
In the said
examination, the appellant secured third place in the merit list of Scheduled
Castes candidates.
Since only two posts, one each for the years 1971 and
1972 on the basis of 20% quota reservation for Scheduled Castes candidates,
\Vete available in the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) the appellant
could not be ap11ointed.
In June, 1974 when one of the selected candidates
had resigned his post, the appellant on the basis of the State Government circular
dated March 6, 1961, laid claim for being appointed
against the resultant
vacancy.
But the State. Government rejected his claim.
The High Court dismissed his petition under Art. 226 on the ground that
the State Government did not choose to fill up the vacancy on an ad hoc
basis and since the merit list for the years 1971 and 1972 stood exh1:1usted
and a fresh competitive examination was held to fill up the· vancancies available
for the years 1973 and 1974, persons borne on the previous years' lists had
no righ_t, to be af)pointed against the vacancy occurring thereafter.
Allowing the appeal to this Court,
HELD : 1. The resultant vacancy caused by the resignaton of one of the
Scheduled Castes candidates should have gone to the appellant who was entitled
to it both on the basis of merit and the policy statement contained in the
Government circular as well as on the fact that no competitive examination
afl been held by the Commission between 1972 and the end of 1974.
[557 Ci-H,
52 Al
E
2. The statutory rules relating to reservation of vacancies cannot operate
F'
aS impediment i_n the way of the appointment of the appellant as it would by
no means increase the number of the two posts reserved by the Government
itself for members of Scheduled Castes during the relevant year. The instruc~
t.ions contained in the circular not only deprecate the then existing practice
according to which in cases of termination of the services of a Government
servant belonging to
Scheduled
Castes/Tribes and
backward
classes, the
resultant vacancy was included in the normal pool of vacancies to be filled up
in <:ccordance with the block system and characterise it as repugnant to the
dominant idea of giving due representation to the members of Scheduled Castes/
G
Tribes are terminated, the resultant vacancy should not be included in the normal
pool of vacancies to be filled u,p in accordance with the block_ systen1 but shoulJ
be filled up on an ad hoc basis from the: candidates belonging to those castes.
The intention of the Government was that the posts vacated should remain
earmarked and be filled up by the members belonging to those castes only.
[551 D·Fl
CNIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 2962 of 1977.
(Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order 3-9-1976
H
of the Punjab & Haryana High Courts in Civil Writ Petition No. 2504
of 1975).
548
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[l978] 3 S.C.R.
A
M. R. Agnihotri and P. C. Bhartari for the Appellant.
B
S. K. Mehta and K. R. Nagaraja for the Respondent.

## Text

;
'
JAGJIT SINGH
v.
STATE OF PUNJAB
March 28, 1978
S47
[V. R. KRISHNA IYER, JASWANT SINGH AND V. D. TULZAPURKAR, JJ.]
Service matter-Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branclt)-One out of six
posts for each year reserved for Scheduled Castes candidates-Appellant, a
Scheduled Caste candidate placed third in merit list of Scheduled Castes candidates-One of the two candidates resigned a year after appointment-Appellant
laid claim for resultant vacancy-If could be appointed-State Government
Circular-Scope e~plained.
Ih each of the two years of 1971 and 1972 there were six vacancies in the
Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch).
To select eligible candidates for
these 12 vacancies in the Punjab Civil Service and other vacaricies in the allied
services, after completion of the requisite formalities the State Service Com~
lnission held the competitive examination called the Punjab Civil Service and
Allied Services Examination in December 1972-January, 1973.
In the said
examination, the appellant secured third place in the merit list of Scheduled
Castes candidates.
Since only two posts, one each for the years 1971 and
1972 on the basis of 20% quota reservation for Scheduled Castes candidates,
\Vete available in the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) the appellant
could not be ap11ointed.
In June, 1974 when one of the selected candidates
had resigned his post, the appellant on the basis of the State Government circular
dated March 6, 1961, laid claim for being appointed
against the resultant
vacancy.
But the State. Government rejected his claim.
The High Court dismissed his petition under Art. 226 on the ground that
the State Government did not choose to fill up the vacancy on an ad hoc
basis and since the merit list for the years 1971 and 1972 stood exh1:1usted
and a fresh competitive examination was held to fill up the· vancancies available
for the years 1973 and 1974, persons borne on the previous years' lists had
no righ_t, to be af)pointed against the vacancy occurring thereafter.
Allowing the appeal to this Court,
HELD : 1. The resultant vacancy caused by the resignaton of one of the
Scheduled Castes candidates should have gone to the appellant who was entitled
to it both on the basis of merit and the policy statement contained in the
Government circular as well as on the fact that no competitive examination
afl been held by the Commission between 1972 and the end of 1974.
[557 Ci-H,
52 Al
E
2. The statutory rules relating to reservation of vacancies cannot operate
F'
aS impediment i_n the way of the appointment of the appellant as it would by
no means increase the number of the two posts reserved by the Government
itself for members of Scheduled Castes during the relevant year. The instruc~
t.ions contained in the circular not only deprecate the then existing practice
according to which in cases of termination of the services of a Government
servant belonging to
Scheduled
Castes/Tribes and
backward
classes, the
resultant vacancy was included in the normal pool of vacancies to be filled up
in <:ccordance with the block system and characterise it as repugnant to the
dominant idea of giving due representation to the members of Scheduled Castes/
G
Tribes are terminated, the resultant vacancy should not be included in the normal
pool of vacancies to be filled u,p in accordance with the block_ systen1 but shoulJ
be filled up on an ad hoc basis from the: candidates belonging to those castes.
The intention of the Government was that the posts vacated should remain
earmarked and be filled up by the members belonging to those castes only.
[551 D·Fl
CNIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 2962 of 1977.
(Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order 3-9-1976
H
of the Punjab & Haryana High Courts in Civil Writ Petition No. 2504
of 1975).
548
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[l978] 3 S.C.R.
A
M. R. Agnihotri and P. C. Bhartari for the Appellant.
B
S. K. Mehta and K. R. Nagaraja for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
JASWANT SINGH, J. This appeal by special leave is directed
against the judgment. and order .dat.ed. Septembe~ 3, .1?76
of the
Punjab & Haryana High Court d1srmssmg the wnt petition No. 2504
of 1975 filed by the appellant under Articles 226 and 227 of the
Constitution.
The circumstances leading to this appeal are : . Six vacancies in
the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) having occurred in the
year 1971, the State Government requested the Punjab Pt1blic Service
·C
Commission (hereinafter referred to as 'the Commission') to select and
recommend sL'C candidates to fill up the said vacancies.
According
to rule 6 read with rule 11 of the Punjab Civil Service (Executive
Branch) Rules, 1930, recruitJnent to the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) has to be made from amongst the persons whose
names arc borne on the register known as 'Register B' on the basis
of the result of the competitive examination held by the Commission
D
in conformity with the rules and regulations framed in that behalf.
.E
F
G
H
As longer time than anticipated was taken in holding the examination
and completing the selection and in the meanwhile six more vacancies
in the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch)
occurred in 1972,
the State Government requested the Commission to recommend the
nan1cs of six more candidates on the basis of the result of the competitive examination for filling up the
additiooal
si11:
vacancies.
Accordingly after completion of the requisite formalities, the Commission held the competitive examination called the Punjab Civil Service
and Allied Services Examination in December, 1972/January, 1973
to select eligible candidates for the aforesaid 12 vacancies in the Punjab Civil Service and other vacancies in the Allied Services. In the
said examination, the appellant who was a member of the Scheduled
Castes secured third position in the order of merit amongst the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the other .two candidates
above him being Harinder Singh Khalsa and Hans Raj Megh.
The
Commission recommended 12 persons including the aforesaid three
persons who belonged to the Scheduled Castes for recruitment to the
Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch). As the appellant had been
placed at serial No. 3 in the order of merit amongst the candidates
belonging to the Scheduled Castes in the aforesaid examination and
only two posts, one each for the years 1971 and 1972, in the Punjab
Civil Service (Executive Branch) were available for members of the
Scheduled Castes on the basis of 20%
quota reserved for them
against which Harii:tder Singh Khalsa and Hans Raj Megh were
appointed, the appellant could not lJe -recruited to the Punjab Civil
Service
(Executive Branch). He was, however, appointed as 'A'
Class Tahsildar in one of the Allied Services as per the second preference indicated by him in his application seeking adtnission to the
Punjab Civil Service and Allied Services Examination. Consequent
upon his selection for appointment in the Indian Administrative Service, Harinder Singh ;Khalsa, who had joined the post of Extra Assis-
'-
)
,
'-.._
-
JAGJIT SINGH v. PUNJAB STATE (laswant Singh, !.)
549
tant Commissioner in the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch)
on or about June 21, 197 4 resigned his office and was relieved therefrom on August 11, 197 4. Being the next candidate in order of mt;rit
amongst the Scheduled Castes candidates in the select list of the Punjab
Civil Service (Executive Branch), the appellant made a representation to the State Government claiming on ad hoc basis the vacancy
caused by the resignation of Harinder Sin_gh Khalsa in accordance with
the State Government's instructions contained in Circular letter No.
WG II-13 (29)-61/5598 dated March 6, 1961. the validity whereof
had been upheld by a Division Bench of the Punjab & Haryana High
Court vidc judgment dated May 26, 1966 in C.W. No. 3063 of 1965
entitled "Harbhajan Lal Mudgil & Anr. v.
State of Punjab & Ors.
The said Circular letter reads as follows :-
From
To
"No. WGII-13 (29)-61/5598
Shri E. N. Mangat Rai, I.C.S.
Chief Secretary to Government, Punjab
All Heads of
Departments,
Commissioners
of Divisions,
Deputy Commissioners and the District and Sessions Judges
in the Punjab and the Registrar, High Court, Punjab.
Dated: Chandigarh, the 6th March, 1961.
SUBJECT : Representation of members of Scheduled Castes/Tribes
A
B
c
D
and Backward Classes in service in Punjab.
E
Sir,
I am directed to refer to Punjab Government letter_ No. 28400WG-S-56/8090, dated the 9th November, 1956, wherein it is stated
that with a view to ensuring due representation to members of Schedules Castes/Tribes and Backward Classes in
Government
service
recruitment on a Block System based on a formula of rotation is to
F
be made and that the first vacancy is to be reserved for a member
belonging to these Castes/Classes irrespective of his position inter se
the other candidate and the remaining four vacancies for others.
The instructions further enjoin that in case it is not possible
to fill the first reserved vacancy by appointment of a candidate belonging to Scheduled Caste/Tribe or Backward Classes, this vacancy
may be filled by a candidate other than the one belonging to Scheduled
Caste/Tribe and Backward Classes and the reservation be carri~,d
on from vacancy to vacancy in the same block until a snitable candidate for the vacancy in the block has been found. According to the
existing practice if the services of a Government servant belonging to
Scheduled Caste/Tribe and Backward Classes are
terminated
the
resultant vacancy is included in the normal pool of vacancies and is
filled np in accordance with the Block System. It has been observed
that in this way the underlying idea of giving due representation to
members of Scheduled Caste/Tribe and Backward Classes
is
not .
G
H
550
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1978] 3 s.c.R.
A
achieved.
With a view to safeguard the interests of the members of
the Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Backward Classes, it has been
decided that if the services of a Government Servant belonging to
Scheduled Castes/Tribes or· Backward· Classes are
terminated,
the
resultant vacancy should not be included in the normal pool of vacancies to be filled in accordance with the Block Sysrem but should be
filled up on ad hoc basis from the candidates belonging to
these
:B
castes and classes.
In other words the intention is that the posts
vacated by members of Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Backward Classes
should remain earmarked and be filled up by members belonging to
the'c Classes.
D
E
F
H
2. There will not be any practical difficulty in finding suitable
candidates belonging to Scheduled
Castes/Tribes and
Backward
Classes in so far as non-technical posts are concerned. However, for
the technical posts and those requiring specialised training, or qualification suitable personnel possessing requisite experience and qualification may not be available. Therefore, in order to avoid ariy
administrative inconvenience by keeping those posts in abeyance for
an indefinite period, such post may be filled up by candidates other
than those belonging to Scheduled
Castes/Tribes
and
Backward
Classes on the condition that whenever suitable persons belonging to
such Castes/Classes are available and there is need for filling up a
new
vacancy,
the
members of the Scheduled Castes/Tribes and
Backward Classes should be given their earlier quota for making up
their deficiency arisen out of a non-availability of their technical persons at that time.
3. The receipt of Ibis communication may please be acknowledged.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
Deputy Secretary, General Administration
for Chief Secretary to Government, Punjab."
The Government rejected the aforesaid claim of the appellant,
whereupon he approached the l>unjab & Haryana High Court by means
of the aforesaid petition which, as already stated, was dismissed by
the High Court vide its judgment and order dated September 3, 1976.
While repelling the contention advanced on behalf of the State
that if the vacancy caused-by the resignation of Harinder Singh Khalsa
was offered to the Scheduled Castes candidate, though on ad hoc basis,
the number of vacancies to be filled up by the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes candidates would go beyond
50%
and
thereby
exceed the limit of reserved vacancies fixed by the statutory rules
relating to reservation of vacancies in the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) and holding that if the vacancy caused by the resignation of Harinder Singh Khalsa was filled up on ad hoc basis by
appointing a member of Scheduled Castes, the number of vacancies
filled b) the Scheduled Castes candidates would still remain the same
· and if a non-Scheduled Castes candidate was appointed against that
...
).
!
JAGJ!T SINGH v. PUNJAB STATE (laswant Singh, l.)
551
vacancy, the very purpose of the Government's instructions conta!ned
in the aforesaid circular No. WG II-13 (29)-61/5598 dated March
6, 1961 would be defeated, the High Court still dismissed the aforeA
said petition of the appellant on the ground that as the State Government did not choose to fill up the vacancy on ad. hoc basis an~ a fresh
competitive examination_.was held to fill up the vacancies available for
.the years 1973 and 1974 in which the aJ?Pell~nt never a~peared .and
B
the aforesaid vacancy caused by the resignation of Hannder Smgh
Khalsa was filled up along with the other vacancies in accordance
with the Block System keepJng in view the reserved quota, and the
merit list prepared by the Commission stood exhausted by the appointment of 12 persons against the 12 vacancies available with respect to
the years 1971 and 1972, the persons borne on that list had no right
to be appointed against a vacancy which occurred thereafter.
The
High Court further held that the appellant had no locus standi to
.challenge the non-inclusion of the vacancy caused by the resignation
of HarincJ.er Singh Khalsa in the reserved quota.
c
We frankly confess we are unable to understand the rationale or
approach of the High Court wbich manifestly runs counter to the ·
aforesaid instructions of the Government contained in Circular No.
WG II-13(29)-61/5598 dated March 6, 1961. The instructions not
D
only deprecate the then existing practice according to which in case
of tennination of the services of a Government servant belonging to
Scheduled Castes/Tribes and backward classes, the resultant vacancy
was included in the normal pool of vacancies to be filled UFJ iri accordance with the block system and characterise it as repugnant to the
dominant idea of giving dne representation to the
members · of
Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and backward classes but go on
E
to Jav down in unmistakable terms that if the services of a Government" servant belonging to Scheduled Castes/Tribes or Backward
Classes are terminated, the resultant vacancy should not be included
in the normal pool of vacancies to be filled up in accordance with the
block system but should be filled, up on ad hoc basis from the candidates belonging to these castes and classes. The instructions put the
matter beyond the pale of controversy by emphatically declaring that
F
the intention of the Government was that the posts vacated by member> of Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Backward Classes should remain
earmarked and be filled up by the members belonging to the Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Backward Classes.
In face of these clear and categorical instructions, the contention
.advanced on behalf of the State that the vacancy meant for Scheduled
Castes having been ince utilised by Harinder Singh Khalsa ceased
to be a reserved vacancy and the appellant had
no right to be
appointed against it cannot be countenanced and consequently the
claim of the appellant cannot but be upheld. We ha•m, no doubt in
our mind that the resultant vacancy caused by the resignation
of
Harinder Singh Khalsa should have gone to the appellant who belonged to the Scheduled Caste and was entifled to it both on the
basis
of the merit and the policy statement contained in the
aforesaid
Circular letter of the Government as well as the fact that no competitive examination had been held by the Commission between 1972
G
H
A
B
r 552
l
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1978] 3 s.c.R·.
and the end of 1974 in which the appellant could have or should have
appeared. W.e may also state that the statutory rules relating to
reservation of vacancies cannot operate as an impediment in the way
of the appointment of the appellant as it would by no means increase
the number of the two posts reserved by the Government itself for the
members of the castes to which the appellant belonged, during the
relevant years.
For the foregoing reasons, we are unable to sustain the judgment
and order of the High Court. In the result, the appeal succeeds and
is hereby allowed with costs quantified at Rs. 2,000/-.
P.RR.
Appeal allowed.
j