degree examination held in November 2008. He also referred to the merit list for the mechanical engineering branch, wherein the second Respondent's name is at Serial No.4, and it is stated that the second Respondent obtained 66.3 marks in the aggregate; whereas, the Petitioner is at Serial No.15 and it is stated that he obtained 59.7 marks in the aggregate. On this basis, he contended that the second Respondent not only possessed the requisite educational qualification before the prescribed closing date but scored higher marks than the Petitioner. His next contention was that the general body of the first Respondent has the requisite power to relax the conditions. In exercise of such power, no relaxation was extended as regards the educational qualification or even the marks of the second Respondent and the limited relaxation was only with regard to the time limit. The learned counsel for the second Respondent further submitted that the Petitioner had not challenged the power of the general body and, therefore, the impugned Notification is valid. The third contention of the learned counsel was that the second Respondent is a SC candidate from Puducherry whereas the Petitioner has not adduced any evidence that he is a SC candidate from Puducherry. The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the qualification of persons as SC is State-specific and, therefore, an applicant for a post in Puducherry should fulfill the condition of being a member of a SC in Puducherry. Because the Petitioner does not fulfill this requirement, the writ petition is liable to be rejected. His last contention was that out of the 5 posts reserved for Lecturers in Mechanical Engineering, 3 posts were in the general category, one post in the OBC category, and one post in the SC category. Out of the three posts in the general category, one person who was selected did not accept the post and, therefore, there remains one vacancy in the general category. Accordingly, he submitted that both the candidates could be accommodated by selecting the second Respondent under the general category because he scored higher marks than the Petitioner.
