P L D 1998 Lahore 77 (PLP)

This petition is instituted under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 on the ground that the petitioner's candidature was wrongly rejected before the announcement of the result of Central Superior Services Competitive Examination, 1996 on the ground that he had attained the age of 30 years and as such was not eligible to appear in the aforesaid examination.

2. The petitioner filed an appeal impugning the aforesaid decision, but the same was rejected by the respondent with the order that he had attained the age of 30 years on 1-7-1966 and as such was not eligible to appear in the competitive examination, 1996 in terms of Rule 4(i) of the Rules. of Competitive Examination, 1996, which runs as under:- "A candidate for admission to the examination must have attained the age of 21 and must not have attained the age of 30 on 1st July, 1996. (candidate born earlier than 2nd July, 1966 and later than Ist July, 1975 will not be eligible)." Though the petitioner had not made it clear in his petition that he was a candidate for Competitive Examination, 1996, but on a query from him and on going through the documents attached with the petition, it became clear that he was a candidate for Central Superior Services Examination, 1996, which required that he should not have attained the age of 30 years on 1-7-1996 in order to be eligible to sit in that Examination. Admittedly the petitioner had shown his date of birth as 1-7-1966 as recorded in his Matriculation Certificate. As such under the above quoted rule he was not eligible to appear in the aforesaid examination as he was born earlier than 2-7-1966.

3. The petitioner has now taken up the plea that his date of birth was wrongly recorded as 1-7-1966 in his academic record as he was born on 1-7-1966 during the night at 12-30 a.m. and as such his date of birth should have been recorded as 2-7-1966 instead of 1-7-1966 as the new date had started after 12-00 O'clock on the night of 1-7-1966. In support he relied upon a copy from register of birth maintained at Village Mubarikpura Union Council, Kot Bahadar to show that in fact he was born at 12-30 a.m. on 2-7-1966 and as such his date of birth was wrongly recorded in his academic record including his matric certificate for which he allegedly made efforts to get his date of birth corrected. Anyhow, it is an admitted fact that the petitioner was born on' 1-7-1966 according to his academic record, which has never been challenged throughout this long period. The respondent therefore, did not act arbitrarily or' in capricious manner to reject the candidature of the petitioner as it clearly infringed the rule of admission to the examination referred to above.

4. No ground has been made out for interference in the Constitutional jurisdiction of this Court. The petition is accordingly dismissed in limine. C.M.No.6687 of 1997 C.M.No.6688 of 1997 With the dismissal of the main petition, these applications also stand disposed of. Petition dismissed