The High Court at Madras dismissed a writ petition seeking a directive to appoint the petitioner as a Soldier in the Indian Army. The court held that appointment is not a right and selection cannot be directed absent illegality in the recruitment process.
Writ petition dismissed with no order as to costs.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED :06.06.2018
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM
W.P.No.18363 of 2015
and M.P.No.1 of 2015
P.Ananthakumar ..Petitioner
Vs.
1.Zonal Recruiting Officer,
Headquarters Recruiting Zone,
(AP,TN,UT of Pcy & AN Gp of Is)
Chennai – 600 009.
2.Army Recruiting Officer,
Redfiled, Coimbatore,
Coimbatore District. .. Respondents
Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus,
directing the respondents to select the petitioner as Soldier
(General Duty) for the Indian Army Open Bharti Recruitment Rally
2014 and confer all the consequential benefits.
For Petitioner : Mr.A.Gopinath
For Respondents : Mr.S.Namo Narayanan for R1 to R2
O R D E R
The relief sought for in this writ petition is for a direction to direct the respondents to select the petitioner as Soldier (General Duty) for the Indian Army Open Bharti Recruitment Rally 2014 and confer all the consequential benefits.
2.This Court is of an opinion that the relief sought for in this writ petition is absolutely mis-conceived. Appointment can never be claimed as a matter of right. All appointments to public services are to be done only in accordance with the recruitment rules in force. The competent authorities are bound
to follow the procedures contemplated under the Rules. Equal opportunity in public appointment is a Constitutional mandate. All eligible persons are to be provided with an opportunity to participate in the process of selection. Participation in the selection process is a right of a candidate, if he is otherwise qualified in accordance with the rules in force. Thus, no writ petition can be entertained with a prayer seeking appointment in the absence of any illegality or irregularity in the process of selection. Any process of selection can be questioned, if there is any irregularity, malpractice or corrupt activities. In the absence of any such substantial ground in this regard, no writ petition can be entertained in respect of the challenge of selection.
3.However, in the present writ petition on hand, the very relief sought for is to direct the respondents to select the petitioner as Soldier. Such a selection cannot be done by this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and it is left open to the writ petitioner to participate in the selection process and secure employment as per the recruitment rules in force. The writ petitioner is a young person, who has to work hard for securing public employment. Contrarily, he cannot move the Court for the purpose of securing employment. Such a practice cannot be encouraged by the Courts. The young minds have to work hard for the purpose of securing public employment in accordance with the procedures contemplated. This Court wishes the writ petitioner for his bright future.
4.Accordingly, the writ petition stands dismissed. However, there shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
Sd/-
Assistant Registrar(CS V )
//True copy//
Sub Assistant Registrar
gsp/kak
To
W.P.No.18363 of 2015
and
M.P.No.1 of 2015
GN(11/06/2018)
2 issues framed by the court
Whether appointment to public service can be claimed as a matter of right.
Whether the court can direct respondents to select the petitioner as Soldier in the absence of illegality or irregularity in the selection process.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
P.Ananthakumar
Zonal Recruiting Officer, Headquarters Recruiting Zone
Army Recruiting Officer, Redfiled, Coimbatore
S.M.Subramaniam
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
