Law: Azad Jammu & Kashmir Interim Constitution, 1974

Section: 42(10)

Azad Jammu & Kashmir Interim Constitution, 1974 (VIII of 1974)-- ----Art. 42(10)--Azad Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission (Procedure) Rules, 1994, Rr. 4(2) & 4(4)--Post of research officer--Advertised--Prescribe qualification--Applied for--Provisionally allowed--Test--Secured 76 marks--Scrutiny of documents--Application rejected--Relevant experience letter not attached--Review application--Rejected--Submission of experience certificate--Time-barred--Incomplete applications--Writ petition--Dismissed--Appellant was ineligible ab initio as he neither submitted requisite experience certificate along with his application nor possessed experience in relevant field of research--He argued that under Rule 4(2) of AJK Public Service Commission (Procedure) Rules, 1994, incomplete applications are liable to be rejected and Commission has no discretion to relax such mandatory requirement--Review petition was also filed beyond prescribed period of seven days provided under Rule 4(4) of Rules and, therefore, was rightly declined--He further argued that experience claimed by appellant in Procurement and Supply Chain Department of PTCL could not be treated as experience in relevant field of research required for post of Research Officer--It is evident that advertisement clearly prescribed qualification of a Master’s Degree in specified disciplines with two years’ experience in relevant field--Law is well settled that eligibility criteria must be satisfied on closing date fixed in advertisement and any document produced subsequently cannot cure initial defect--Moreover, record reflected that appellant was provisionally permitted to appear in written examination on his own risk subject to scrutiny of his credentials--After test, when documents were scrutinized, it was found that application lacked mandatory experience certificate--Consequently, PSC rejected application--Commission, through a committee constituted for purpose, examined certificate and concluded that experience claimed therein related to Procurement and Supply Chain Management, which could not be regarded as experience in relevant field of research required for post of Research…