Court No. - 36
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 13283 of 2018 Petitioner :- Ajit Kumar And 11 Others Respondent :- Union Of India And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Siddharth Khare Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.
Hon'ble Mrs. Sunita Agarwal,J.
Sri Apurva Hazela has filed his memo of appearance on behalf of respondents 1 to 4 is taken on record.
Learned counsel for the petitioners prays for and is permitted to withdraw the writ petition with regard to petitioner no.8, namely, Wasim Akram Khan with liberty to file a fresh with correct details.
The writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned counsel for respondents.
The present petition is for a writ of certiorari quashing the orders dated 27.10.2016 with regard to petitioner nos. 1 to 11 whereby their candidature for the post of Constable pursuant to a selection made in the year 2013 has been rejected on the allegations of impersonation and the petitioners have been debarred for a period of three years from 12.5.2013 for participating in any recruitment examination to be conducted by the Staff Selection Commission.
The petitioners seek to challenge the orders impugned on the ground that the respondent had proceeded to cancel the candidature of the petitioners only on the basis of report of the Government Laboratory. No show cause notice or opportunity of hearing was provided to the petitioners in any manner.
Submission is that in the similar set of circumstances, this Court has allowed a bunch of writ petitions vide judgment and order dated 16.4.2018. The petitioners have approached this Court in the present petition after coming to know about the said judgment. It is settled law that a person who is not vigilant about his rights and does not approach the Court within time does not seek indulgence of the Court for watching the proceedings initiated by others from outside sitting on the fence.
To this observation, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that several writ petitions filed in the year 2018 have been entertained and decided vide judgment and order dated 16.4.2018 and, therefore, the relief being sought by the petitioners in the present petition may be denied.
Considering this submission of learned counsel for the petitioners and having noted the fact that the writ petitions filed in the year 2018 were entertained by this Court and decided on 16.4.2018 in a bunch of writ petitions with the leading Writ Petition No.2813 of 2017 (Ran Vijay Singh & 34 Ors. v. Union of India & 6 Ors.), this Court is of the view that the dismissal of the writ petition on account of unexplained latches on the part of the petitioners would cause undue hardship and would discriminate the petitioners from other similarly situated persons.
In view thereof, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the claim of the petitioners, the present petition is being disposed of in the same terms and directions of the judgment and order dated 16.4.2018 which reads as under:-
"30. It shall, however, be open for the respondents to verify identity of petitioners upon material and evidence admissible in law by following the principles of natural justice. The required exercise be undertaken preferably within a period of four months from the date of presentation of certified copy of this order, as petitioners have already lost sufficient time. Based upon such consideration, the respondents shall take a fresh decision in the matter relating to grant of appointment to the petitioners."
Order Date :- 30.5.2018
AK Pandey