Dr. Devendra Kumar Arora, J@mdashHeard learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Gaurav Mehrotra, who has accepted notice and put in appearance on behalf of respondents.
2. With the consent of learned Counsel for the parties, I proceed to decide the writ petition at the admission stage itself.
3. Petitioner, who is a unsuccessful candidate, has approached this Court by filing the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, questioning the correctness of the stipulation contained in Admit Card issued by the opposite parties for conducting Hindi Typing Test on 24.5.2015 in ''Mangal Font'' and specified as In script keyboard layout vide SMS dated 18.5.2015 contained in Annexure No. 5 to the writ petition. Petitioner inter-alia has also sought a writ of Mandamus for a direction to the respondents to cancel the result declared on 17.7.2015 on the basis of Hindi Typing Test held in ''Mangal Font'' and specified keyboard layout. Lastly, it has been prayed that opposite parties may be directed to give sufficient and reasonable time to the petitioner along with other candidates to prepare for the examination/typing test in the required font before the actual examination.
4. Shorn off unnecessary details, the facts of the case are as under:
Advertisement No. 01/Sub.Court/Category ''C''/Clerical Cadre/2014 was issued by the Registrar General, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad inviting On-line application for filling up of the different Group "C" cadre post through direct recruitment under Centralized recruitment Scheme in the U.P. State District Courts subordinate to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. Clause 6 of the aforesaid advertisement deals with Selection Procedure, which reads as under:
"6. SELECTION PROCEDURE: The Selection procedure shall include one common offline examination (Written examination on O.M.R. Sheet) for all the posts. Selection procedure shall consists of following stages:-
(1) Off-line examination (objective type written examination on O.M.R. Sheet) for Group ''C'' posts. The selection process for the post of Junior Assistant and Paid Apprentices shall be same.
(2) Computer Type Test: Hindi/English Computer type test for Group ''C'' posts shall be held on later date after declaration of result of the Offline examination (Written Examination on O.M.R. Sheet). Five candidates in order of merit against each post category-wise shall be shortlisted for appearing in Computer Type Test.
(3) Interview shall not be part of the selection process.
(4) A combined merit list for Class-III posts (except the post of Driver and Stenographer) shall be prepared on the basis of marks obtained by the candidates in Offline examination and Hindi/English type test on computer.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these rules, the Appointing Authority and the Selecting Authority with regard to conduct of examination and selection shall act in accordance with general or special orders issued by Hon''ble Chief Justice of High Court from time to time."
5. According to the petitioner, pursuant to the aforesaid advertisement, he applied for the posts of Junior Assistant and Paid Apprentice. He appeared in the written examination and was declared successful. Thereafter, he was called for appearing in Hindi/English Computer Typing Test fixed for 24.5.2015 and an Admit Card for the same was also issued to him. According to him, at instruction No. 6 of the Admit Card, it has been mentioned that Fonts to be used for Hindi Typing is "Mangal" and for English Typing "UTF-8" fonts will be used. This information was also transmitted to him through SMS on 18.5.2015 from the High Court Administration.
6. As the ''Mangal font'' for Hindi Typing is not commonly used in the examination conducted by the State Government or other Organizations, and the candidates being not acquainted with the said font, a representation was made by some of the candidates before the Registrar, High Court, Allahabad, stating therein that they may be permitted to give typing test on ''Kruti Dev-10'' font instead of ''Mangal Font'' but as no action was taken by the respondents, one Sri Vinit Kumar alongwith four other candidates preferred writ petition, bearing No. 29665 of 2015, at Allahabad, questioning the validity of the impugned instruction/condition. This Court at Allahabad, as an interim measure, vide order dated 21.5.2015, directed that the selection may go on but the result in respect of five petitioners shall not be declared till the next date of listing. However, liberty was granted to them to appear in the examination without prejudice to their rights.
7. It has been urged on behalf of the petitioner that he and other candidates have not been afforded reasonable time to prepare themselves for the 2nd stage examination-typing test in the instructed font as such holding the examination of Hindi typing Test in ''Mangal font under In script Keyboard layout is wholly unjustified and as such the result declared on the basis of same is liable to be cancelled.
8. Petitioner has taken a ground that a new stipulation while issuing admit card amounts to alteration of the rules of game, after it has begun, which is not permissible under law. It is contended on behalf of the petitioners that for Mangal Font entirely different keyboard is used. The petitioner has practiced on Kruti Dev Font which is widely used.
9. Lastly, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner and other candidates have not given a reasonable time to prepare for the 2nd stage examination i.e. Typing test in the instructed font. Therefore, holding the Hindi typing test in Mangal font under In Script keyboard layout is wholly unjustified and liable to be struck off and the result declared on the basis of same is liable to be cancelled.
10. Per contra, Mr. Gaurav Mehrotra, learned counsel for the opposite parties submits that since the petitioner took a chance by appearing in the Hindi Typing Test, therefore, in view of the settled legal proposition of law laid down by the Hon''ble Apex Court in
11. Before I proceed further, I may pout at this stage that the scrutiny of record reveals that several other writ petitions have been preferred by the candidates impugning the above instruction issued by the opposite parties and in all the writ petitions, the benefit of the ad interim order dated 21.5.2015 has been extended to the writ petitioners. As averred above, this fact find place in the final result declared by the respondents.
12. It is not disputed that the petitioner herein participated in the process of selection knowing fully well that in the typing test ''Mangal Font'' will be used. Having unsuccessfully participated in the process of selection without any demur, he is estopped from challenging the selection criterion inter alia that the holding of examination i.e. Computer Hindi Typing Test in ''Mangal font'' under In Script keyboard, is wholly unjustified.
13. In Dhananjay Malik''s case (Supra), the Hon''ble Apex Court observed in paragraph-9 of the report as under:
"In the present case, as already pointed out, the respondent-writ petitioners herein participated in the selection process without any demur; they are estopped from complaining that the selection process was not in accordance with Rules. If they think that the advertisement and selection process were not in accordance with Rules, they could have challenged the advertisement and selection process without participating in the selection process. This has not been done."
14. In all the other cases, which have been relied by the Counsel for the respondents, the Apex Court has succinctly held that if the candidates had appeared at the examination without any demur and did not question the validity, such candidates are estopped and precluded from questioning the selection process.
15. Before parting, it is relevant to point out that the case of the petitioner is different from the petitioners, who had filed writ petitions before the declaration of the result. It may be clarified that on 17.7.2015, result of the aforesaid examination was declared except the petitioners of writ petition Nos. 29665 of 2015, 29984 of 2015, 30486 of 2015, 30347 of 2015, 34310 of 2015, 33826 of 2015, 2770 (S/S) of 2015, 35043 of 2015, 35172 of 2015 and 3478 (S/S) of 2015. There is no dispute to the fact that the result of the petitioner has been declared as unsuccessful. In other words, the petitioner has filed the instant writ petition after declaration of result and had participated in the selection process/Computer Typing Test without any protest.
16. Needless to observe that surely, if the petitioner''s name had appeared in the merit list, he would not have even dreamed of challenging the selection. The petitioner invoked the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India only after he found that his name does not figure in the merit list prepared by the respondents.
17. In view of above, I am not inclined to interfere in the matter.
18. The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed.
