Recruitment period computation excludes publication date, making the candidate age-eligible for selection consideration.

A recruitment notice prescribing a 45-day application period must exclude the date of publication when computing time under Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, unless a contrary intention appears. On that basis, the last date for applications fell on 18-10-2007, and the candidate had completed 45 years by then, satisfying the age requirement for the post of Judicial Member, CESTAT. The applicant was therefore entitled to be considered in the selection process, and exclusion on age grounds was treated as unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether, for computing the 45-day period in the recruitment advertisement, the date of publication was to be excluded so that the applicant had completed the prescribed age of 45 years and was entitled to be considered for selection to the post of Judicial Member, CESTAT.

Analysis: The advertisement fixed a 45-day period for receipt of applications. Applying Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, the first day in a series of days is excluded where the period runs from a specified point of time, unless a contrary intention appears. The Court treated the advertisement as supplementary to the statutory recruitment rules and held that the computation principle recognized in binding judicial precedent governed the advertisement as well. Excluding the date of publication, the last date fell on 18-10-2007, by which date the applicant had completed 45 years and therefore satisfied the age requirement under Rule 3 of the CESTAT (Recruitment and Condition of Service) Rules, 1987.

Conclusion: The applicant was wrongly held ineligible on age grounds and was entitled to consideration in the selection process.

Final Conclusion: The selection process initiated by the impugned advertisement was vitiated to the extent it excluded the applicant from consideration, and a fresh selection was directed with the applicant to be treated as age-eligible.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a recruitment notice prescribes a period running from the date of publication, the date of publication is excluded in computing the period unless the notice shows a contrary intention, and eligibility must be assessed accordingly.

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