This judgment shall decide Writ Petition No.2665 of 2000, Writ Petition No.2757 of 2000, Writ Petition No. 109 of 2001 and Writ Petition No. 108 of 2001 as common question are involved.
2. The petitioners in all these cases are vying for appointment as Patwaris in Sub-- Division, Gujjar Khan of District Rawalpindi. All of them possessed the requisite qualification and have also passed Patwar Examination. The grievance being made out in all these writ petitions is that the Collector, Sub-Division, Gujjar Khan, proceeded to take proceedings for appointment of Patwaris in the said Sub --Division. The candidates were examined and then interviewed. However, the petitioners were ignored despite the fact that they were duly entered in the list of Patwar pass persons maintained under Rule 3.6 of the Land Records Manual and to appoint several private respondents in these cases who are not residents of Gujjar Khan Sub-Division, rather may of them are not the residents of District Rawalpindi.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners contends that the said appointments and consequent non- appointment of the petitioners is violative of the instructions contained in Parts II and IV of Chapter 13 of the said Land Records Manual inasmuch as the petitioners are bona fide residents of Gujjar Khan Sub-- Division and their names are duly entered in the said list of Patwar pass persons and as such the Collector Sub-Division has acted without lawful authority in ignoring the petitioners and appointing the said private respondents/non-residents of Gujjar Khan Sub-Division.
4. Raja Saeed Akram, learned Assistant Advocate-General with reference to a memorandum, dated 19-10-1989 (Annexure B) to Writ Petition No.2665 of 2000 argued that Paras. 3.6 to 3.9 and 3.11 of Chapter 3 of the said Land Records Manual have been done away with. Now the instructions of the Board of Revenue, Punjab, are that the list is to be maintained but the appointment of Patwari is to be made in accordance with the Service Rules and the Recruitment Policy applicable.
5. Learned counsel for the private respondents relies upon the Punjab Revenue Department (Revenue Administration Posts) Rules, 1990, to argue that under the latter instructions of the Board of Revenue, appointments are to be made in accordance with the said Rules and there is no restriction as to appointments in a Sub-Division of only the residents of the said Sub-Division. Also refers to a judgment, dated 20-6-2000 of this Court in Writ Petition No.289 of 2000 to urge that the Rules have to take precedence over the provisions of the Land Records Manual.
6. I have given some thought to the respective contentions of the learned counsel as also of the learned Law Officer. There is no doubt that Paras. 3.6 to 3.9 and para. 3.11 have been done away with by the Board of Revenue, Punjab, vide. The said memorandum, dated 19-10-1989 (Annexure B).
However, the provision substituted does not entirely support the contention being raised by the learned A.A.-C. And the learned counsel for the respondent. I deem it proper to reproduce the said substituted provisions as follows:-- "In all Sub-Division, a list of all Matriculate Patwar pass persons shall be maintained in the prescribed form with a view to have ready information about the availability of eligible persons in the Sub-Division to facilitate filling up the vacancies. In each Sub-Division the names of only those persons shall be enrolled, who are bona fide residents of the concerned Sub-Division. The names of the eligible persons shall be added to the list as and when the result of Patwar Examination is received and no eligible person shall be refused enrolment. The list shall be annually verified and updated so as to exclude the names of those who have become unavailable on account of death, migration, employment on any other post etc. However, the appointment of Patwaris shall be made strictly in accordance with the Service Rules and the Recruitment Policy as may be applicable at the relevant time. "
7. Thus, it will be seen that the maintenance of list of Matriculate Patwar pass persons who are bona fide residents of the concerned Sub-Division is still to be maintained. Further instructions are that these lists are to be updated on an annual basis. It has, of course, further been directed that the Patwaris shall be appointed strictly in accordance with the Service Rules and the Recruitment Policy. The examination of the said Rules of 1990 show that only the qualifications of a person to be appointed as a Patwari (and all such appointments are made by direct recruitment) have been prescribed. I may further note here that the provisions of para. 3.12 of Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the Land Records Manual still exists. It is this para. i.e. 3.12 which lays down that the Patwari of each Tehsil should, as a rule, be selected from the residents of that Tehsil or of its immediate vicinity. The said para. Further insists that no candidate who has not passed the Patwar Examination is to be appointed in any case.
8. Needless to state here that the said instructions are still existing and are being followed 'continuously over decades. The insistence in the said provisions of Lana Records Manual on the appointment or Patwari of a person resident of the Tehsil is with a purpose. It is the said village official who being at the lowest rung of the Revenue hierarchy of the Province, who is responsible I for collecting as well as providing the requisite information for maintaining the Revenue Records, some of which are prepared on periodical basis and some like Khasra Girdawari are to be prepared crops --were and thereafter the daily transaction are to be recorded in the Rozenamcha Waqiati. Such a person has to be from the vicinity in respect whereof the Revenue Records and other documents are to be prepared. I am of the opinion that the said long standing instructions cannot be ignored. Of course, the Rules are there to prescribe the qualifications for appointment to the posts of Patwaris and those rules of course are to be strictly followed in the matter of appointment of the Patwaris.
9. The appointments, however, made till date, at the same time cannot be termed as without lawful authority. As the said memorandum being relied upon by the learned A.A:-G. Does give an impression that the Member, Board of Revenue, had directed to ignore the said condition i.e. The residence of the candidates in the said Tehsil. I have been informed that at present four posts are available in Gujjar Khan Sub-Division. The Collector, Sub-Division Gujjar Khan present in person further informed me that two of the said posts were filled up by transfer during the pendency of this writ petition subject to its decision. The incumbents of the said two posts have retained their lien in their parent Tehsil wherefrom they were transferred to the said posts and can be repatriated.
10. In the light of the above discussion all these writ petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to immediately take necessary steps to fill up the said vacancies from the petitioners in these cases on the basis of their seniority position or as per their position in the said list of Patwar pass persons admittedly being maintained in the Sub-Division. It is further directed that in future if any vacancy occurs in Gujjar Khan Sub-Division, subject to the provisions of the said Rules, 1990, the same shall be filled only from the bona fide residents of Gujjar Khan Sub-Division in accordance with the substituted provisions contained in the said memorandum, dated 19-10-1989 issued by the Board of Revenue and of course under para. 3.12 of the Land Records Manual. No order as to costs.
Q.M.H./M.A.K./I-154/L