1. The instant petition has been filed for grant of the following substantive reliefs:

"(i) A Writ in the nature of mandamus may be issued to the respondent to count four year seven months regular service experience of the petitioner and not to forfeited for the purpose of eligibility to be declare him eligible to appear for H.P.E. & A.S. main Exams.

(ii) That the respondent commission may be directed to exclude the name of petitioner from the final list of rejected candidates shown at S. No. 21 (annexure-P/10) with further directions to include in the allowed list of candidates to appear in H.P.F. & A.S. main Exam-2018.

iii) That the petitioner may be allowed to appear on dated 4, 5 & 6th of September in H.P. F. & A.S. main exams.

iv) That the respondent may be directed to issue the roll no. to appear in H.P.F.& A.S. main exams.

(v) That respondent may be directed not to proceed further for H.P.F.&A.S. 018-main exams, before adjudication of this writ petition."

2. As per advertisement No. 18/2018, dated 26.12.2018, the respondent-Commission advertised 30 posts of Section Officer, HPF&AS.

3. The petitioner was having a bachelor degree with four years and seven months regular service, however the same was not being considered because this service was not rendered immediately prior to the submission of application for the post in question constraining the petitioner to file the instant petition.

4. The basis for rejection of the claim is set out in letter dated 9.2.2021, which reads as under:

"Kindly refer to your office letter No. 4-31/2019-PSC(R-III)-1567 Dated 04/01/2021 on the subject cited above it is informed that keeping in view the provisions of Himachal Pradesh Finance & Accounts Service Rules, 2018 and as per HP Public Service Commission's advertisement, determination of eligibility of candidate in respect of essential qualification and experience of 03 years regular service to appear in HPF&AS examination was the prescribed closing date for submission of online recruitment application i.e 15.01.2019 and Sh. Anurag Singh Thakur was not regular employee of Industry Department on this day.

Further, the past service rendered in a different Institute(that too in institute other than notified in recruitment rules) prior to applying for the post in question does not render the applicant eligible for appearing in the exam for the said post as the eligibility was to be reckoned on 15:01:2019 only."

5. It would be noticed that the essential qualification for the post in question as per the Recruitment Rules is "Bachelor Degree from a recognized university with three years regular service in the Department/Board/Corporation/autonomous body/University/Cooperative Bank of the State of Himachal Pradesh".

6. The Rules nowhere provide that such experience with any of these institutions should be immediately preceding the submission of the recruitment application. What is required is only three years regular service.

7. Now, adverting to the facts, it is not in dispute that the petitioner had initially joined as Assistant Lecturer with Institute of Hotel Management, Hamirpur (government undertaking) and worked as regular employee for four years and seven months w.e.f. 1.1.2012 to 10.8.2016 as is evident from the certificate (Annexure P-1).

8. It is thereafter that the petitioner qualified H.P. Subordinate Allied Service Exam advertised in the year 2015 and was selected for the post of Extension Officer in the Department of Industries.

9. The technical resignation of the petitioner was accepted by the Institute of Hotel Management, Hamirpur and his lien was kept there initially for one year w.e.f. 31.7.2016 to 31.7.2017, which was further extended to 31.7.2018. The petitioner accordingly joined the Department of Industries on 26.8.2018 on contract basis and it is thereafter that he applied for the post in question.

10. Obviously, in such circumstances regular service of four years and seven months rendered by the petitioner w.e.f. 1.1.2012 to 10.8.2016 with Institute of Hotel Management, Hamirpur cannot be completely washed away that too only on the ground that the same was not rendered immediately to the submission of online recruitment application. In case such interpretation is accepted, then it would only result in absurdity, which, under all circumstances, has to be avoided.

11. Even otherwise, once the petitioner has submitted his technical resignation, even then regular service rendered by the petitioner with previous employer had to be counted, which is far and excess of three years experience as the petitioner has already completed more than three years' regular service with the first employer i.e. Institute of Hotel Management, Hamirpur.

12. Therefore, in the given facts and circumstances, the rejection of claim of the petitioner on the ground that the experience of three years regular service to appear in HPF&AS examination was to be counted only if it was immediately prior to the prescribed closing date for submission of online recruitment application i.e 15.01.2019 is contrary to the Rules as this condition is nowhere prescribed in the Rules.

13. Further, the ground for rejection of the claim of the petitioner that the past service rendered was in different institute other than the one notified in the Rules is also not tenable as the Rules clearly envisage for counting of three years regular service rendered in any Department/Board/Corporation/autonomous body/University/Co-operative Bank of the State of Himachal Pradesh. In the instant case, the service rendered by the petitioner was not only on regular basis, but was with Hotel Management, Hamirpur, which is an undertaking of the government itself.

14. In view of the aforesaid discussion and for the reasons stated above, we find merit in the instant petition and the same is accordingly allowed. Consequently, the respondent is directed to count four years and seven months regular service rendered by the petitioner as Assistant Lecturer with Institute of Hotel Management, Hamirpur w.e.f. 1.1.2012 to 10.8.2016 for the post in question; exclude his name from the final list of rejected candidates; and include his name in the allowed list of candidates to appear in HPFAS main exam-2018.

15. Since the petitioner was permitted to participate in the selection process by virtue of order dated 30.8.2019, the respondent is directed to declare his result and if found successful, then give appointment to the petitioner with all consequential benefits including seniority, except salary, which shall be admissible to the petitioner only from the date of this order. Pending application(s), if any, also stands disposed of. The parties are left to bear their own costs.