Dismissed

Shweta Vishwanathan v. The Reserve Bank of India

Telangana HC24 Jul 2023WP/23471/2019

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court rejected a writ petition challenging the Reserve Bank of India's rejection of the petitioner's candidature for Legal Officer. The Court exercised jurisdiction at Mumbai as per the notification and held the petitioner lacked requisite Advocate experience due to her provisional enrollment status and provisional experience certificate on the critical date.

What did the court decide?

The writ petition was dismissed and the challenged rejection order was upheld. Costs were directed against the petitioner.

Shweta Vishwanathan Vs The Reserve Bank of India — Service and Employment | Telangana HC (2023)

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HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction)

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MONDAY, THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE

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PRESENT

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THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE E.V. VENUGOPAL

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wRrT PETTT|ON NO. 23471 0F 2019

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Between:

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Shweta Vishwanathan, Wo. Gautam S. Mukundan, Aged about 27 yearc, Ryo. D41, lncome Tax Colony, Road No.10, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad- 500034.

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...PETITIONER

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AND

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The Reserve Bank of lndia, Human Resource Management Department, Central Office, 20h Floor, Central Office, Building, Shahid Bhagatsirigh wlarg, Mumbai- 400001

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Renuka V.D/o. Viswamohanan P., Age: 31 years, R/o. Sudharma House, Thenhipalam post, Malapuram, Kerala -673 636

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Respondent No.2 is impleaded as per Court Order dated 26.02.2021 in l.A. No.'1 of 2020

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...RESPONDENTS

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Petition under Article 226 of lhe Constitution of lndia praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ or order or direction more particularly in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring proceedings issued vide the CO.HMRD.SRRS.No.5026/0s .o1 .1012019-20, dated.12.09.20 19 by Respondent rejecting the candidature of the Petitioner for the^post of Legal Officer in Gr B- PY 2017 notified vide Notification dated 19.07.2018 by the Respondent as illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and in^gross violation of^principles of natural justice and contrary to the instructions and guidelines mentioned in the Notification

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--_-7. ,//

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daled 19.47.iaO1,3 and consequently direct the Re;pond:rts to appoint the Petitioner to the pos : c,f Legal Officer in Gr^'B' - PY 201'2.

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lA NO: 1 OF 2019

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Petition unde S;ection 151 CPC praying that in the cicl^rnslances stated in the affidavit filed in r upport of the petition. the High Cot rt ma,, l. e pleased to direct the Respondents to provisionally appoint the Petitioner to the J,)st of Legal Officer in Gr^'B' - PY 2017 n,ttified vide Notification dated 19 07 .2A1t while suspending the operation of the impugned proceredings issued vide the CO.HIvIRD.SRRS.N,r.t;026/05.01j012019-20 dated 1tt.)at.2019 by Respondent, pendin I rlisposal of the above Writ Petition.

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lA NO: 2 OF 2019

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Petition unde Section 151 CPC praying that in tre cirr:urnstances stated in the affidavit filed in s uppo( of the petition, the High Court ma1 ire pleased to direct the Respondents to not to fill the existing vacancy for the po;t of -egal Officer in Gr'B'- PY 2017 no fir;d vide Notification dated 19.07.20'1ti, p,3n6;pg disposal of the above Writ Petiti )n.

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lA NO: 5 OF 2019

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Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circu-nst,lnces stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court n'ay be pleased to receive the adrlition; I raterial papers, which is to be read as oart and parcel of the above Writ Petil on, in the interest of^justice, pending disposzrl of the above Writ Petition.

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lA NO: 4 OF 2019

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Between:

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The Reserve Bank r I lndia, Human Resources l\rlanage,ment Dopartment, Central Office, 2Oth Floor,⁽ entral Office Building, Shahid Biagatr;i rgrh I'/arg,^'lVlumbai- 400001

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...PETITIONER/RESPONDENT/IIESPONDENT

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Shweta Vishwanathan, W/o. Gautam S. Mukundan, Age 27 years, R/o D-41, lncome Tax Colony, Road No.10, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad- 500034.

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...RESPONDENT/PETITIONER/PETITIONER

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Petition under section 151 cPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to vacate the interim order dated 28-10-20'lg passed in l.A. No. 112019 in W.p. No. 23471 ot 2O19 in the interest of justice.

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Counsel for the Petitioner: SRI G. VTDYA SAGAR, SENIOR COUNSEL FOR SRI. MAMIDI AVINASH REDDY

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Counsel forthe Respondent No.1: SRI B. NALTN KUMAR, SENIOR COUNSEL Counsel for the Respondent No.2: SMT. SUNDARI R. PISUPATI

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The Court made the following: ORDER

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H E HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE E.V.VtrN'J(:iOI'AL

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ORDER:

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WRIT PETITION No.2347 I {)F 2(r 1 9

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I He ard :lr-r (l '"/iclr ir Sagirr. IL.irr.nccl scniOr couns,t, ,r )L-r r t|19 Un behall ol Sri N4anrirl. A',,in rs;1.; i?r:cld1 , lr.,tr t:r,rl cour.rscl lbr f rc pc ti )nlr illtd B.Nahn Kum,r, le:rrn.r1 st_.r ir r r:our-tstl :rrrrl SrnL.sundirrr R. :,rsuc ri I(zlr.({l counsel lor the lirsr ar'<l s..:( r;.rcl respondr:nts respectivcly.

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2 challcnrlirrg hc proceeclings da-ted l'2.o().2 )r,r, is;uccr bi, the 1sr rcspondent, r,,'Irercr nlcr the car-rcLdntr_Lre oI the pcLitio.r:r rr.: s r.iccted ftrr thc post o1' I-r,gir ( )f[iccr, Gradc I] py^.2017. lr] re!;p(.c o rhe N<;rilication dated 19.07.2018, t t(. pctiLioncr Illc<l the prcscnt trit pc i clt

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3 Thc pctitiorLcr :rsscrLs that the 1sr responclent issrtr,,l th: rr:c ruiLment notification da rr:d l t.i7.2O18 inviting appliciLtions'ro:n :lrqible candiclates lor the post ol l-ep.eil C)|fi,;gp e1-21.,t3 r,rotifl,ing 9 r,aca'crr:s tr r. L tc pirnel year 2017. The pt'rrt..or e;- is having tw,o vcars t'orkirLg r.x tc.rierrr.c irs Legal Associate/Legal As;si ;t rnt as such, requiremc.t of pr,>drri.t {), o- []ar council Registration c< r-trrlc rtrr rrnd a c<:rtificate frorn the ilzrr /.sr;ociati.rr is not necessarl,. SJ rr_' a; plicd to rhc said post on ,2g.O7.,,,( il3 Iol lora,rng the rnsl ruclior-rs gir cr-r i: \ppe ndir_l of f he notificatton a] rc rr rs allo .cd Roll N.. 19100o0042 frrr zrppearing lirr the on-li.e ex.Lmirri:. -rn *.hit:h was conducted on 0l.O,l.l Olg and alsO appcarcd k;r thc rrrtcr.,,ir..r or: 29. iU.2O1g and scored 38 rna.rl s .rrt of 40 a.d as such she rvas r r:..orrrmended for recrnitment.f trrc r;a l post vicrc rc.sr-rrt lis[ clatcd 01.] i.:01!, Trrc pr:titioner

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I)iSe:.rl:

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further asserts that as^{thc mal tcr stoocl thlrs, thc 1sr rcspondent[J,]nk} issued the impugned^{procccclings c atcd12.0q.20 1grejectitlghet'} candidature without^{assignil-lg an.\ l casc)rlsrvllaLsoer'er'}

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4 ilhe^{learnr:d counsel tbr thc pe[itioncr subtrtits that the essential} eligibility criteria^{enunciated therein for the said post is Bachelor'sDegreein} Law recognizecl by^{Bar councilof India u,ith a minimum of 5oo/o marksor} equivalent^{(Desirable 6O% marks) in the aggregateof all semesters/ years'} Furthcr, the eligibility^{critcriaalso requircd at least two years'experieuceas} an Advocate^{(or) as a Law Ofhccr in the I egalDepartment cif a large bani< /} financial institution /^{statutory corporation /company(or) Iegal associate/} legal assistant^{in an Advocate'sorQolicitor'soffice or inthe Legal} Department of^{Central/ State Governmcnt(or) as :r teacher in law in a law} college. As regards^{experienccis concerned,the Notificationspeaks of four} categories or^{personseligible to applywhopossesstwo years of experience} as Advocate as a^{Law Officer in the trgal Departmentof a large bank /} [rnancial institution /^{statutory corporation /companyas a legalassociate/} legal assistant^{in an Advocate'sorSolicitor's offlce or intheLegal} Department^{o[ Central} /^{State Government as a teacherin law in a law} college. The learned^{counsel for the petitionerfurther submitsthat a further} requirement of^{producing a copyof Bar Council Registration Certihcateand} a certificate^{from Bar Associationis prescribedfor the practicing Advocates} who fall under the^{flrstcategory above stated and no such requirementis} prescribed for the^{other three categoriesltis furthersubmittedthat the}

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r,rta -l (rt I

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1 I l i I I iI

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petltiol)cr f a.l trn Ir r the itt;ovc sairl thit.cl cirL( gon , :iLVLD!l 1\'O yczr rs expericnce \'l)rKrlli r s lcgal rrssociaLe/Jegal assisrarit ,.r.:1, I'.A rtrlm udi & Co. Advocalr:s anci i j sttch u.oulcl not requirc Dro<lr r. n,q Btr: Council Registrlrtion (lcr,rl' :i tc and a ccrtillcerte from Bar Assr i r t ion and havrng possesscd rhc rc( r- isite qual:frcations, she appfied to t5,. ,r rir I posr of Lcgal Ofliccr in Gr:rclr' S for pancl ycar 2OlT. .lhc ; ea.i-rrt <i co u n sr:l lor the petitloncr relie cl cn ttc. lbllow:ng dccisions in support of .r s I.rrrL(entions.

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Deepak Agg: nval vs' Keshav Kaushikr, sushma suri Vs. Govt. of National Capital f<:rritory of Delhi2 and Union of )lnd.ia Vs. Major Bahadur Singh:. 'l lrr: r.atio <lecidendi in all thcse ca scs r,'rth regard to rccruttment tc [hc p,;s1, of judrcial officers and th.l sr:r., ,, r:or-rdiLior-rs for recrutIment

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5 This Cou rt^rtl o'der dated 28.lO,2otg in LA.N r. I Oi ..i) t() clirected the first respondent Lo c rrLsider the czrse of the petitioner- fc,r i 1;1>ointment to the post of Legal Crffic t: r l;y treating her to have bcen qrralifie: irr pursrrance o[ the recrnitmen I rr: ilication, datc 19,07.2O1g, u,irhout ,:[crring ro the impugned rejectron r rc er datecl \ 2.O9.2019."

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6 Sri B.Na;in K rnar, learned senior counscl irppcaring for thc first respondent submir1r, 1 that as on 01.07.201g the cardida ,r shruld have at least two -years' cxp. -ir:n.e as .n Advocate or as a L:ru, o rr,:r.r i, the Legal

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I {20I 3) .5 SCa 2; ? J (l9c)9) I SC:. :laio ., (2006) : sc.. 3t rr

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l'ir!.'^.t ,,1 ll

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Dcperl_mcnt of^{a large bank} 7,^{linancialinstitrrticn} /^{statutory corporatton} c()mpany ancl/.lr legal^associate ,/^{Iegal ('ollsultantinan Advocate'sor} Solicitor's offlce or in^{the legal departmcnt o[ Ccntral} /^{State Governnlentor} as teacher in^la,,v in^{a Lau, Collegc/Univcrsity. Sr;meclarificationr.l'as also} given under the heading 'NoLe'^{which sal/si tllat' incase ofpracticing} advocates:^{(i) cop:' of the Bar Clouncil Rcgistratron Certificate,and (ii) a} certiiicate from^{Bar Associationol rvl'rich the car-rdidate is a metnbet't:r a} ccrtificate issued by the^{presidirrg officcr o[ a Court before whichthe} candidate has^{practicedfor the rcquired periodshould be producedat the} timc of intervierv.

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7 It is subrnitted that^{the petitionerhasiurnishecl anexPerience} certificate frorn P. Arulgudi^{& Co., Advocates'} T'tre certificate, inter alia, describes the nature ol^{workperformed by the petitioner in the following} words:

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"performed legal research,^{preparcd and submitted materials to} government bodies, supervised^{closing of drafts and represented in} legal proceedings"

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8Thephrase"representedir-rlegalproceedings"clearlysuggeststhat during her tenure at^{the firm, the petitior.rerwas discharging not on!.ynon-} litigation but also litigation^{functions. lt is submittedthat section29 of the} Advocates Act, 1961^{provides,"subject tt.r the provisions of this Act and any} rules made thereund.er,^{there shall, as from the appointedday, be only one} class q! -persons entitled to^{practicethe professionof law' namely'} advocates." Further,^{Sectiorl 33 of that Act states "Except as otherwise}

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l'lr L,r 5 ol l2

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provid( (l irr tiris ,\r' (. r jn alt: rl1h.r larl, ftrr the tirne beiriE rr: ii rce, .ro person shall, ori or alie r r1 t appornt;Icnt dzrv, bc entitled t,) prir(,1 | t alr,, L-ourt or bcforc iuty allth( l-r Y or pe rsr)n r:nlcss hc is enrollt cl a,s ilt aC.ocirtc undcr thrs Acr

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9 'llr c cxprcssi ,n 'practice thc profcssion of law' I-Le:; be,:n in tr-rpre tcd rathcr l)roadl\ b,tl e Supremc Court rn Bar Couneil of Irrctia 'i/s A.K. Balaji and Orsa. J'hc Cor-Lr in :his mattur had hcld

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Pra, Lic n1 r:f larr,, includcs not only appearance in corrrt s l)ut :rlso grvrng of opir io r. drafting of lnstmmcnts, partrcipatio;-r I confen.rces inr,oh ing Le g:d lj ;cussion.^'l'hese arc parts of non litir:rtiorr ltriroLice tvhrc h Ls ltart ol practice o[ lau'. Scheme in Chapter IV oi ire Ach ocares Act makes it c.le 1r that advocates enrolled with the lJar Cr,r_t rcil alonc are cntillecl to pr.ic t :e law, exccp( as otherwise providec in e.r. t,lh,_,r lau.

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I o Further. rt is s rbmittecl that the experience cer-tific.r re issn.rl to thc petitioncr bv f '. ArL lrnudi & Co. , Advocates states Lhilr .r i petirioner "has n,orkcd as Lcgal r\s ;i:;tant/ Junior Advocate", Use of er sl:;h (/), t:ll.ectivelv means^'or'. In r ie"r' rJ' the submissions on the nature of ,rt:rk perlirrmed by the pctitioner. it i. unclear u,hethcr the petitlonrr v,,:,s r.vorkir q as an Assistant or a .lLr rr, r Aclvocaf e. Furt ht.r, a desclption r(':l^'es(ln te (i in legal proceedings in the :crtificate logically points towards hr'= be ng :r Junior AdvoczrLc''. I1 t.s, r,it, rt:fore, submitted that the petitioner Ialls^q'rthin thc categoru (l) of lhe r, c.uitment advertisement i.e. Ad;ocatr: Acr:ordingly, thc pctitioncr s cor rrcrtli rn that shc is not required to lrodu(.( a ccrlificate of cnrolmc.t *'ith th: .lerr council is incorrect. The pet.tione- lracl submit|ed a

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r AIIi 2018 S(' I tJ:

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l'altc 6 ol' l1

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provisionalenrolmcntCertificate,u,hichindicatesthaIslrehrrdcnrolledasan advocate on 09.11.2018.^{This certiticatcis conditional on the petrtioner} passingtheexaminationprescribedbybarcouncilrr.ithinstipulatedtime.In effect,thepetitionerdoesnothavetherequisiteexperienceasonol.0T,2ol8 (the datc prescribed in^{the Advertisemenl)Hcncc pr:r1cd to dismiss lhc writ} petition.

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11 One V.Renuka^{filed implead pctition in I'A'No 1 of 2O2Oand by order} dated 26.02.2021,^{the saidpetition wasordered and she was impleadedas} second respondent^{in the present writ petition'}

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12 Smt. Sundari^{thelearned counsel for thesecondrespondent} submittedthatintermsofprovisionsoflhcNotihcaLion/advertisement'any resultant dispute^{arising out of lhe advertisementis subjectto the sole} jurisdictionoftheCourtssituatedatMumbal.ItisfurtherSubmittedthat mere service^{of notice on the Petitioner in Hyderabad doesnot createany} cause of action^{or any part of cause of action so as to give rise to territorial} jurisdiction of this Hon'ble^{High Court to entertain this petition ltis} submitted that^{even if a small part of cause of aclion arises within the} territorial^{jurisdiction of the High Court, the same by itself may not be} considered to be^{a determinative factor compellingthe Hon'ble High courtto} decide the matter^{on merits'}

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13 It is further^{submitted that the petitioner llledthe wril petition based} on incorrect reading /^{interpretationof AdvocatesAct' 1961 and the}

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I).rr. ' Lrl ll

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Notihc:rtion rliLtr.r I 1',).O7.2O t 8 issucd b.y the Respond,,f t I:o. I trnd thc elpplicablc RLt (,:i

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1.+ It is lur hr': : r lnrLtcd that thc Re spondent |io. t l,rr, ulty rejccted the candidaturL o Lh (. 'r^{titioncr lor thc post} of Legai Olfi<:el rirctc B in r,rel,", of thc Pe tiLioncr l:r<.L i tgr cxpcrience as on 0I.07.201g as r(.,]r rlr(.a[ in terms ol the prot,isions ol' r1tr f lot ihcation / Advertisement.

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I5 Moreove^-. llr experier-rcc certificate submifted lr,. t hc [)etitioner categoricaih, sl il rl:, h,rt the Pctrtioncr has worked asr Lcgz 1 \ssistarrr/..lunior Advocatc. C)ou;rlL,l vith thc statemcnt that the petitjon:r 'ropresented it.l legal procecdirres . t is evident that during her tenur( rrt _he lirm, the I)etitioner u'as rl is r.f uging litigation lunctions as u ell. Th.rs, it is humbll. submitted tltat r,r'rr rL o r il restt'rctive intorpretation 01 thc .r,.nt ,prac-ricing of law", the Peritioncr, 'zrs rrdmittedly discharging functions ,,..riclr by virtue of the provisions ol' lh ' Advocates Act, the Advocates alor-r,r ,ver e entitled to discharge.

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16 Admitredlr , rlrr l,etitioner had submrtted onl5, rL pror is tonal enrolment certihcate whic I rncl cirt(,d that she l-rad enrolled as; an 11r vooale only on 09 1 1 2018 As th(' '( [itloncr did not have the requisite (.]irlcr.ience as on 01.07.2018 AS r)r('r.i( r it;cd in [he ]Jotifrca r io, / Advertis enrcr r, iL is submitte<i that her candidatu-,, u rs right11. cancelled and offere<l to t.rc f.ir;t candidate on the Resen'e I ist./\t a tlist

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Page S oi l2

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17 It is submitted that the Respondent^{No. thas the aLtthoritr'lrl fratlt:} its ou,n Recrurtment Rules and^{[he recruitment adrlertisemcnt [or tll(:} advertised posts. It is humbly^{submittedthat \rhen thcre is a disputc} between thc recruitment authority and^{the candidatesover the exact} intirpretation of the rules notilred in^{the advertiscrnent} /^{notification,thc} interpretation of the recruitment^{authority is to be favouredas Lhc powerol} interpretation of the rules is consequential^{and incidental to the pou'cr of the} authority to frame its own^{recruitmentrules.}

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1g In the light of the above^{contentions advanced by the lcarned counsel} for the parties and upon^{perusingthe entirematerial availableon record, the} first issue is relating to^{the territorial jurisdiction of this Court to cntertain} thc present writ^petition.

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19 The notification issued by^{the hrst respondentcategorically shows that} ,,Any resultant dispute arising out of this advertisement shall be subject to the sole^jurisdiction of^{the Courts situatedat Mumbaionly"'}

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20 The learned counsel for^{the petitioner submitted that the respondent} Bank has branches all^{over India and one such branch issituatedin} Hyderabad and as such^{there arises no ques[ion of whetherornot} jurisdiction has arisen within the territorial^{jurisdiction of this Honblecourt}

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trrgc ! ol l2

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and rcli('d o| iir rsron ()J Maharashtra Chess llssociatio:1 Vs. Union of

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Indias

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21 No rl,rlr l,t. ll s'r, c []irrrk has its branch in tlyclertl;acl also But Lhat docs lt()t COnlr r . u srli rion )n LI)is Court to cntcr alt t.- j: \ rit putltion for the rcason thli ll r 1i:'^ inr,olvccl in thjs case is rvith .egar(l o tlte rccr.uttment notilica t ion br-it rrli irnt bank transaction. The recruitrn:r : aqencl,and the authoritrcs u,i() (.( r.rrlUr.L tI.rr cxamination and tt-e rr:l;1,::d mar:hincry rs avairabrc :rl tht ,' r d o'llcc or the Rcserve Bank at Mur rrrri cnly. .rhc facts in Maharashtra C ress Association (supra), relieC up,)r bl, th., learned counscr rbr Lr-rr' ,t'ti r()r(r, .rrc dirfercnt to the facts c,f the .,,rse on hancl. Thc disputc i[r tl-rir t 'iLs ] is u'ith rc'gard to a private contrar.r wrrereas in the present (:as(' t'l( rr 'pr'rtc is q'ith rcgard to recruitnrent r)r.r(eiis. r, shanti Devi Alias Shanti Vlishra Vs. Union of India6 relied rrr: b1. the lcarned counsel for th,' l)( t Li()ncr also the dispute is with 1q:garcl to stoppage o[ pension o1'the rct:tir n:r Ihcr.cin So, this Court is ol the co:rsiclcrecl opinion thar the petitior.r ()'. grrt to har-e moved the competent court at {umbai on.ry slnce in .ie$. ol r,l)( r olillcatir>n rhis Court lacks jurisrlictio;t o enterlain this wrrt petition

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22 The next .().r, tlion of the learned counsel for_ the 1t:.titioner is that requirement of Pro,l L. :i -rg a copv of Bar Council Regir;tratir,, Certificzrre and a certificate ,i'or. Ir'u r l ssociatirn rs prescribed for the pra:t.r:ing Acrvocates

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5 (20:q l-t S('(..t5:. 6 (2020) I tr s(,( ,' ).l

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l'jage l0 ol^l2

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u ho fall uttder Lhc^{first catcgory onh' i cat least two years'experience as all} Advocate and^{no such recluirement isprescribed forthc othcr thrcc} categorics^vtz. ,^{as a Law Officer in the trgal Deparlment of a large bun k /} financial institution /^{statutory corporation} /^{company(or) Iegal associate /} legal assistant in^{anAdvoca[e'sorSolicitor'soffice or intheLegal} Department of^{Central/ State Government (or) as a teacher in law in a lalr'} collegeltisfurtherSubmittedthatthepetitionerfallunderthethird category, having two^{years experienceworkingas legal associate / lcgaI} assistant with^{P.Arulmudi& Co. Advocatesand as such would not requirc} producingBarCouncilRegistrationCertificateandacertificatefromBar Associatiotr.

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23 However, in^{the notihcationa clarification was also given w'hich says} that in case of^{practicingadvocates:(i) copyof the Bar CouncilRegistration} Certifrcate,and(ii)acertificatefromBarAssociationofwhichthecandidate is a member or^{a certificate issuedby the presiding officer of a Courtbefore} which the candidate^{has practiced for the required periodshould be} produced at the time^{of interview.}

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24 As seen from the^{record,the petitioner has furnishcdan experience} certificate from^{P. Arulgudi & Co., Advocates'The certificate' inter alia'} describesthenatureofworkperformedbythepetitioner.Section29ofthe AdvocatesAct,lg6lprovides,"subjecttotheprovisionsofthisActandany Rules made^{thereunder, there shall, as fromthe appointed day, be only one} class of^{-p"T"on" entitled topracticethe profession ol law' namely} '

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',rr! ll(,r ll

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aldvocatcs^" Fr- r'llr, r Scction 33 oi thltt Act states Il> r. pt its othcrwisc provided in Lh rs \r r rr iri :rn-- othcr' larv hrr. Lhe timc lreir-r11 iri lbr ce, no person shall, on or .rft 'r Ll rt .rpl)ointmcnt Cir_r , tre cntitled to pril(]ti-.,, il any Court or before ant aui hr)r iior pcrson unlcss he is enro[e,1 as ilr: ilc]vocate under this Act

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25 In thc i rst r. case, the 1'IoliI-ic.tion specill.s th,rt the incumbent should have t..r O ','r 3 's' expericnce as on 01.O7.20 1g. ll r: lr{OTl_-l to the essenLial expt:r'ir-i.., ,'riteria in thc arrlvcrtiSement Ciea.. irrdicafes that requirement [.r r.r. s r:Ltior-r rr,'ith Birr counsel is 'in ciL.,c rf practising advocates' onll'. I:;. rh€rt does not absolve the petiti()n.e r rr.orr producirrg certihcate sho* inE1 I e - r:nrolment belore Bar Coun,;il sirrc :, tire nature of work being ,nclc.r rk . bY the petrrioncr would be done lr1 iL, advo(rate only whether he / slrt rltysically practicc before courl of l:r,,6p n61. The petitioner was r-oL.rr .rrcd before Bar councrl by the date rf irorification but she applied for thr si;me befcrre the Bar council of the s]riit,l of Andhra Pradesh under rht r\ r'rcates Act. r96 r on 9rh November 2t) r g zrnd u,ith the Bar council of 'li:irr. rz.ra on 12.i 1.201g. The said r:ertii-r;zLlc produced by her was also only l)r-, v sional. So, by the date of notificati,;., trre petitioner has no tu'o ycar:;'cr(p^.r ence to applv lor the post of Le gal O[[i rer Gr:ade_B.

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26 For thc flrrrcr3ri r1., <liscussion, this court is n,t coriv nc(]d \,ith the contention s of thr' 1r,.'i tioner and accordingly, the writ petit . r is liable to be and is accordingir r is n ssecl. No orcler as to costs.

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I'agc l2 ol l2

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27 Misccllancous petitrons if an1'^pending in this u'rit^petition shall^also

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stand dismissed

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SD/- G. SIREESHA ASSISTANT REGISTRAR secrronffi

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//TRUE COPY//

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,/ To,

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One CC to SRt MAMtD.t AVtNASfi REDDY, Advocate tOpUCl ?. 9ne^{CC to SRt B NAL._!NI<U1/AR,} Senior Coun."t fOFUCf^-' 3 Qne CC to SMT. SUNDART R. ptSUpATI, nOvocatdiOFUCt

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