THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE ALOK ARADHE
AND
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE N.V.SHRAVAN KUMAR
WRIT PETITION No.25406 of 2023
ORDER: (Per the Hon'ble the Chief Justice Alok Aradhe)
Mr. Thandava Yogesh, learned counsel for the
petitioner.
Mr. Kowturu Pavan Kumar, learned Standing
Counsel for respondent Nos.2 and 3.
2. In this writ petition, the petitioner inter alia has
prayed for the following relief:
"For the reasons stated in the
accompanying Affidavit, It is therefore
prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be
pleased to issue a Writ, Order or Direction,
more particularly one in the nature of Writ
of Mandamus, declaring the action of the
respondents in passing order vide R.O.C
No. 123/2023-RC dated 30.08.2023, where
in the petitioner candidature for JCJ 2023
Mains Examination has been rejected by
the respondents saying "candidature of
applicants at SI. Nos 1 to 6 are rejected, as
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they have not acquired the law degree
within 3 years prior to the date of
recruitment notification" despite she has
completed her LLB degree and got
provisional certificate on 28.02.2020 and
Original degree on 13.08.2020 and enrolled
on 19.11.2020 is illegal arbitrary
unconstitutional unreasonable and
violation of Art.14, Art. 16, Art.19(1)(g) and
Art.21 of Constitution of India and
Contrary to the Hon'ble Supreme Court
Judgment in All India Judges' Association
and others vs. Union of India [(2002) 4 SCC
247] and R. Anitha and Others v. State of
Telangana and Others [(2019) 6 ALD 625
(DB)]; consequently direct the respondents
to allow the petitioner to participate in the
on going Junior Civil Judge recruitment
Notification No.123/2023-RC Dated
01.02.2023 including the JCJ-2023 Mains
Written exam scheduled to be conducted
on 30.09.2023 and pass such other order
or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem
fit and proper in the circumstances of the
case and in the interest of justice and
equity."
3. Facts
giving rise to filing of this petition briefly stated are that High Court of Telangana has issued a notification dated 01.02.2023 for recruitment of eight (08) ::3::
posts of Civil Judges (Junior Division) under direct recruitment and two (02) posts by way of transfer. The petitioner who has completed her LLB final semester examination in the month of November, 2019 applied on 27.02.2023 in pursuance of the aforesaid recruitment notification. The petitioner was permitted to appear in the preliminary examination.
4. The High Court of Telangana has issued a notification dated 15.05.2023, in which the petitioner has been declared successful to appear in the written examination. However, the application submitted by the petitioner was rejected by a notification dated 30.08.2023. The relevant extract of the notification reads as under:
"candidature of applicants at SI. Nos 1 to 6 are rejected, as they have not acquired the law degree within 3 years prior to the date of recruitment notification."
5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the aforesaid rejection of the notification dated 30.08.2023 is contrary to law laid down by Hon'ble Supreme Court in ::4::
All India Judges' Association v. Union of India 1. It is further submitted that writ petition filed by the similarly situated candidates was entertained by a Division Bench of this Court last year and an interim order was granted.
6. We have considered the submissions made on both sides and have perused the record.
7. Admittedly, the notification contains a stipulation that the candidate must have acquired the law degree within 3 years prior to the date of recruitment notification. It is evident from the averment made in paragraph 3 of the petition itself that petitioner has acquired law degree in the month of November, 2019. The period of three years has completed in November, 2022. Thus, the petitioner has not acquired the law degree within a period of three years prior to the date of notification dated 01.02.2023.
8. It is pertinent to note that the petitioner has not challenged the validity of the aforesaid requirement in the 1 (2002) 4 SCC 247 ::5::
instant writ petition. So far as contention that the aforesaid condition is in contravention of the law laid down by Hon'ble Supreme Court in All India Judges' Association (supra) is concerned, as far as it would say that in the aforesaid decision, Hon'ble Supreme Court was dealing with the requirement of three years of practice at the Bar and not with the requirement of having acquired the law decree within three years prior to date of notification. Therefore, the aforesaid decision has no application to the fact situation of the case.
9. So far as submission that similarly situated persons have been granted relief by a Division Bench of this Court is concerned, we have perused the order dated 02.06.2022 passed by a Division Bench of this Court in W.P.No.24079 of 2022. From the perusal of the aforesaid order, it is evident that the validity of Rule 5(2)(A) I, II and III of the Telangana State Judicial Service and Cadre Rules, 2017 as amended by G.O.Ms.No.3 Law (LA and J-SPL.B) Department dated 06.01.2020 and the consequential notification No.282/2021 RC dated 06.05.2022 were ::6::
challenged in the aforesaid writ petition. In the instant petition as stated supra, the petitioner has not challenged the condition contained in the recruitment notification dated 30.08.2023 of having acquired the law decree within a period of three years prior to the date of recruitment notification. The petitioner therefore is not entitled to the relief as sought for by her in the writ petition.
10. In the result, the Writ Petition fails and is hereby dismissed. No costs.
As a sequel, miscellaneous petitions, pending if any, stand closed.
_______________________________ ALOK ARADHE, CJ _______________________________ N.V.SHRAVAN KUMAR, J Date: 23.09.2023 KL