{"id":197790,"date":"1978-03-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1978-03-27T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/jagjit-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-28-march-1978"},"modified":"2018-09-05T19:33:03","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T14:03:03","slug":"jagjit-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-28-march-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/jagjit-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-28-march-1978","title":{"rendered":"Jagjit Singh vs State Of Punjab on 28 March, 1978"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Jagjit Singh vs State Of Punjab on 28 March, 1978<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_citations\">Equivalent citations: 1978 AIR  988, \t\t  1978 SCR  (3) 547<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: J Singh<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: Singh, Jaswant<\/div>\n<pre>           PETITIONER:\nJAGJIT SINGH\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nSTATE OF PUNJAB\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT28\/03\/1978\n\nBENCH:\nSINGH, JASWANT\nBENCH:\nSINGH, JASWANT\nKRISHNAIYER, V.R.\nTULZAPURKAR, V.D.\n\nCITATION:\n 1978 AIR  988\t\t  1978 SCR  (3) 547\n 1978 SCC  (2) 196\n\n\nACT:\nService\t matter-Punjab Civil Service (Executive\t Branch)-one\nout of six posts for each year reserved for Scheduled Castes\ncandidates-Appellant,  a  Scheduled Caste  candidate  placed\nthird  in merit list of Scheduled Castes candidates  One  of\nthe  two  candidates  resigned\ta  year\t after\tappointment-\nAppellant  laid\t claim. for resultant  vacancy-If  could  be\nappointed-State Government Circular-Scope explained.\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\nIn  each  of the two years of 1971 and 1972 there  were\t six\nvacancies  in the Punjab Civil Service\t(Executive  Branch).\nTo select eligible candidates for these 12 vacancies in\t the\nPunjab\tCivil  Service\tand other vacancies  in\t the  allied\nservices, after completion of the requisite formalities\t the\nState  Service Commission held the  competitive\t examination\ncalled\t the  Punjab  Civil  Service  and  Allied   Services\nExamination  in\t December 1972-January, 1973.  In  the\tsaid\nexamination, the appellant secured third place in the  merit\nlist of Scheduled Castes candidates.\tSince\t only\t two\nposts, one each for the years 1971 and 1972 on the basis  of\n20%  quota reservation for Scheduled Castes  candidates,were\navailable in   the  Punjab Civil Service (Executive  Branch)\nthe  appellant could not be appointed.\tIn June,  1974\twhen\none  of the selected candidates bad resigned his  post,\t the\nappellant  on  the basis of the\t State\tGovernment  circular\ndated March 6, 1961, laid claim for being appointed  against\nthe  resultant vacancy.\t But the State\tGovernment  rejected\nhis claim.\nThe High Court dismissed his petition under Art. 226 on\t the\nground\tthat the State Government did not choose to fill  up\nthe vacancy on an ad hoc basis and since the merit list\t for\nthe  years  1971  and  1972  stood  exhausted  and  a  fresh\ncompetitive  examination was held to fill up  the  vacancies\navailable for the years 1973 and 1974, persons borne on\t the\nprevious  years' lists had no right to be appointed  against\nthe vacancy occurring thereafter.\nAllowing the appeal to this Court,\nHELD : 1. The resultant vacancy caused by the resignation of\none  of the Scheduled Castes candidates should have gone  to\nthe  appellant who was entitled to it both on the  basis  of\nmerit  and the policy statement contained in the  Government\ncircular  as  well  as\ton  the\t fact  that  no\t competitive\nexamination had been held by the Commission between 1972 and\nthe end of 1974. [557 (G-H, 52 A]\n2. The statutory rules relating to reservation of  vacancies\ncannot\toperate as impediment in the way of the\t appointment\nof the appellant as it would by no means increase the number\nof  the\t two  posts reserved by the  Government\t itself\t for\nmembers\t of Scheduled Castes during the relevant year.\t The\ninstructions  contained in the circular not  only  deprecate\nthe  then existing practice according to which in  cases  of\ntermination   of  the  services\t of  a\tGovernment   servant\nbelonging  to Scheduled Castes\/Tribes and backward  classes,\nthe  resultant\tvacancy was included in the normal  pool  of\nvacancies  to  be  filled up in accordance  with  the  block\nsystem and characterise it as repugnant to the dominant idea\nof  giving  due representation to the members  of  Scheduled\nCastes\/ Tribes are terminated, the resultant vacancy  should\nnot be included in the normal pool of vacancies to be filled\nup in accordance with the block system but should be  filled\nup on an ad hoc basis from the candidates belonging to those\ncastes.\t The intention of the Government was that the  posts\nvacated\t should\t remain earmarked and be filled\t up  by\t the\nmembers belonging to those castes only. [551 D-F]\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n<p>CIVIL  APPELLATE  JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal  No.  2962  of<br \/>\n1977.\n<\/p>\n<p>(Appeal\t by Special Leave from the Judgment and\t Order\t3-9-<br \/>\n1976  of  the  Punjab &amp; Haryana High Courts  in\t Civil\tWrit<br \/>\nPetition No. 2504 of 1975).\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">548<\/span><\/p>\n<p>M. R. Agnihotri and P. C. Bhartari for the Appellant.<br \/>\nS. K. Mehta and K. R. Nagaraja for the Respondent.<br \/>\nThe Judgment of the Court was delivered by<br \/>\nJASWANT\t SINGH, J. This appeal by special leave is  directed<br \/>\nagainst\t the judgment and order dated September 3,  1976  of<br \/>\nthe Punjab &amp; Haryana High Court dismissing the writ petition<br \/>\nNo.  2504 of 1975 filed by the appellant under Articles\t 226<br \/>\nand 227 of the Constitution.\n<\/p>\n<p>The circumstances leading to this appeal are : Six vacancies<br \/>\nin  the\t Punjab\t Civil\tService\t (Executive  Branch)  having<br \/>\noccurred  in the year 1971, the State  Government  requested<br \/>\nthe  Punjab Public Service Commission (hereinafter  referred<br \/>\nto   as\t &#8216;the  Commission)  to\tselect\tand  recommend\t six<br \/>\ncandidates to fill up the said vacancies.  According to rule<br \/>\n6  read with rule 11 of the Punjab Civil Service  (Executive<br \/>\nBranch) Rules, 1930, recruitment to the Punjab Civil Service<br \/>\n(Executive  Branch) has to be made from amongst the  persons<br \/>\nwhose names are borne on the register known as &#8216;Register  B&#8217;<br \/>\non  the basis of the result of the  competitive\t examination<br \/>\nheld  by  the Commission in conformity with  the  rules\t and<br \/>\nregulations  framed  in that behalf.  As  longer  time\tthan<br \/>\nanticipated  was  taken\t in  holding  the  examination\t and<br \/>\ncompleting  the\t selection  and in the\tmeanwhile  six\tmore<br \/>\nvacancies  in  the Punjab Civil Service\t (Executive  Branch)<br \/>\noccurred  in  1972,  the  State\t Government  requested\t the<br \/>\nCommission to recommend the names of six more candidates  on<br \/>\nthe basis of the result of the corn petitive examination for<br \/>\nfilling\t up the additional six vacancies. Accordingly  after<br \/>\ncompletion of the requisite formalities, the Commission held<br \/>\nthe competitive examination called the Punjab Civil  Service<br \/>\nand  Allied Services Examination in December,  1972\/January,<br \/>\n1973  to  select eligible candidates for  the  aforesaid  12<br \/>\nvacancies in the Punjab Civil Service and other vacancies in<br \/>\nthe Allied Services.  In the said examination, the appellant<br \/>\nwho  was  a  member of the Scheduled  Castes  secured  third<br \/>\nposition  in  the  order of  merit  amongst  the  candidates<br \/>\nbelonging to the Scheduled Castes-, the other two candidates<br \/>\nabove  him  being Harinder Singh Khalsa and Hans  Rai  Megh.<br \/>\nThe   Commission  recommended  12  persons   including\t the<br \/>\naforesaid three persons who belonged to the Scheduled Castes<br \/>\nfor  recruitment  to  the Punjab  Civil\t Service  (Executive<br \/>\nBranch).   As the appellant had been placed at serial No.  3<br \/>\nin  the order of merit amongst the candidates  belonging  to<br \/>\nthe  Scheduled Castes in the aforesaid examination and\tonly<br \/>\ntwo  posts,  one each for the years 1971 and  1972,  in\t the<br \/>\nPunjab\tCivil Service (Executive Branch) were available\t for<br \/>\nmembers\t of the Scheduled Castes on the basis of  20%  quota<br \/>\nreserved  for them against which Harinder Singh\t Khalsa\t and<br \/>\nHans  Raj  Megh Were appointed, the appellant could  not  be<br \/>\nrecruited  to the Punjab Civil Service\t(Executive  Branch).<br \/>\nHe was, however, appointed as &#8216;A&#8217; Class Tahsildar in one  of<br \/>\nthe  Allied Services as per the second preference  indicated<br \/>\nby  him in his application seeking admission to\t the  Punjab<br \/>\nCivil Service and Allied Services Examination.\tConsequent<br \/>\nupon   his   selection\tfor  appointment   in\tthe   Indian<br \/>\nAdministrative\tService,  Harinder  Singh  Khalsa,  who\t had<br \/>\njoined the post of Extra Assis-\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">549<\/span><\/p>\n<p>tant  Commissioner  in the Punjab Civil\t Service  (Executive<br \/>\nBranch)\t on or about June 21, 1974 resigned his\t office\t and<br \/>\nwas  relieved therefrom on August 11, 1974.  Being the\tnext<br \/>\ncandidate  in  order of merit amongst  the-Scheduled  Castes<br \/>\ncandidates  in the select list of the Punjab  Civil  Service<br \/>\n(Executive  Branch), the appellant made a representation  to<br \/>\nthe  State Government claiming on ad hoc basis\tthe  vacancy<br \/>\ncaused\tby  the\t resignation of\t Harinder  Singh  Khalsa  in<br \/>\naccordance   with   the\t State\t Government&#8217;s\tinstructions<br \/>\ncontained in Circular letter No. WG II-13 (29)-61\/5598 dated<br \/>\nMarch  6,1961.the  validity  whereof had been  upheld  by  a<br \/>\nDivision  Bench\t of  the Punjab &amp; Haryana  High\t Court\tvide<br \/>\njudgment  dated\t May  26,  1966 in C.W.\t No.  3063  of\t1965<br \/>\nentitled  &#8220;Harbhajan Lal Mudgil &amp; Anr. v. State of Punjab  &amp;<br \/>\nOrs.  The said Circular letter reads as follows<br \/>\n\t      &#8220;No.  WGII-13(29)-61\/5598<br \/>\nFrom<br \/>\nShri E. N. Mangat Rai, I.C.S.\n<\/p>\n<p>Chief Secretary to Government, Punjab<br \/>\nTO<br \/>\nAll Heads of Departments, Commissioners of Divisions,<br \/>\nDeputy Commissioners and the District and Sessions Judges in<br \/>\nthe Punjab and the Registrar, High Court, Punjab.<br \/>\nDated : Chandigarh, the 6th March, 1961.\n<\/p>\n<p>SUBJECT\t  :   Representation   of   members   of   Scheduled<br \/>\nCastes\/Tribes and Backward Classes in service in Punjab.<br \/>\nSir,<br \/>\nI  am  directed\t to refer to Punjab  Government\t letter\t No.<br \/>\n28400WG-S-56\/8090, dated the 9th November, 1956, wherein  it<br \/>\nis stated that with a view to ensuring due representation to<br \/>\nmembers of Schedules Castes\/Tribes and Backward Classes\t in<br \/>\nGovernment service recruitment on a Block System based on  a<br \/>\nformula\t of  rotation  is to be made,  and  that  the  first<br \/>\nvacancy\t is to be reserved for a member belonging  to  these<br \/>\nCastes\/Classes\tirrespective  of his position inter  se\t the<br \/>\nother candidate and the remaining four vacancies for others.<br \/>\nThe  instructions  further  enjoin that in case\t it  is\t not<br \/>\npossible  to fill the first reserved vacancy by\t appointment<br \/>\nof  a  candidate  be- longing to  Scheduled  Caste\/Tribe  or<br \/>\nBackward classes, this vacancy may be filled by a  candidate<br \/>\nother  than  one  belonging  to\t Scheduled  Caste\/Tribe\t  or<br \/>\nBackward  Classes,  and the reservation be carried  on\tfrom<br \/>\nvacancy\t to  vacancy  in the same  block  until\t a  suitable<br \/>\ncandidate  for\tthe  vacancy in the block  has\tbeen  found.<br \/>\nAccording  to  the existing practice if the  services  of  a<br \/>\ngovernment  servant belonging to  Scheduled Caste\/Tribe\t and<br \/>\nBackward  Classes  are terminated the resultant\t vacancy  is<br \/>\nincluded in the normal pool of vacancies and is filled up in<br \/>\naccordance with the Block System.  It has been observed that<br \/>\nin this way the underlying idea of giving due representation<br \/>\nto members of Scheduled Caste\/Tribe and Backward Classes  is<br \/>\nnot<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">550<\/span><br \/>\nachieved.   With  a view to safeguard the interests  of\t the<br \/>\nmembers of the Scheduled Castes\/Tribes and Backward Classes,<br \/>\nit  has\t been decided that if the services of  a  Government<br \/>\nServant\t belonging to Scheduled Castes\/Tribes  or  Backward&#8217;<br \/>\nClasses are terminated, the resultant vacancy should not  be<br \/>\nincluded  in  the normal pool of vacancies to be  filled  in<br \/>\naccordance with the Block System but should be .filled up on<br \/>\nad  hoc basis from the candidates belonging to these  castes<br \/>\nand classes.  In other words the intention is that the posts<br \/>\nvacated\t by members of Scheduled Castes\/Tribes and  Backward<br \/>\nClasses should remain earmarked and be filled up by  members<br \/>\nbelonging to these Classes.\n<\/p>\n<p>2.  There  will not be any practical difficulty\t in  finding<br \/>\nsuitable candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes\/Tribes and<br \/>\nBackward  Classes  in  so far  as  non-technical  posts\t are<br \/>\nconcerned.   However,  for  the technical  posts  and  those<br \/>\nrequiring  specialised training, or  qualification  suitable<br \/>\npersonnel sessing requisite experience and qualification may<br \/>\nnot  be\t available.   Therefore, in order  to -avoid&#8217;  any<br \/>\nadministrative\tinconvenience  by  keeping  those  posts  in<br \/>\nabeyance  for an indefinite period, such post may be  filled<br \/>\nup  by\tcandidates other than those belonging  to  Scheduled<br \/>\nCastes\/Tribes  and Back-ward Classes on the  condition\tthat<br \/>\nwhenever  suitable persons belonging to such  Castes\/Classes<br \/>\nare  available\tand  there is need for\tfilling\t tip  a\t new<br \/>\nvacancy,  the  members of the Scheduled\t Castes\/Tribes and<br \/>\nBackward  Classes  should be given their earlier  quota\t for<br \/>\nmaking up their deficiency arisen out of a  non-availability<br \/>\nof their technical persons at that time.\n<\/p>\n<p>3.   The  receipt  of  this  communication  may\t please\t  be<br \/>\nacknowledged.\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t   Yours faithfully,<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t Sd\/-\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\t Deputy Secretary, General Administration<br \/>\n\t\tfor Chief Secretary to Government, Punjab.&#8221;<br \/>\nThe   Government  rejected  the\t aforesaid  claim   of\t the<br \/>\nappellant,  whereupon  lie approached tbe Punjab  &amp;  Haryana<br \/>\nHigh  Court  by means of the aforesaid\tpetition  which,  as<br \/>\nalready\t stated, was dismissed by the High.  Court vide\t its<br \/>\njudgment and order dated September 3, 1976.<br \/>\nWhile  repelling  the contention advanced on behalf  of\t the<br \/>\nState  that  if\t the vacancy caused by\tthe  resignation  of<br \/>\nHarinder  Singh Khalsa was offered to the  Scheduled  Castes<br \/>\ncandidate,  though on ad hoc basis, the number of  vacancies<br \/>\nto be filled up by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes<br \/>\ncandidates would go beyond 50% and thereby exceed the  limit<br \/>\nof reserved vacancies  fixed by the statutory rules relating<br \/>\nto  reservation\t of vacancies in the  Punjab  Civil  Service<br \/>\n(Executive  Branch) and holding that if the, vacancy  caused<br \/>\nby the resignation of Harinder Singh Khalsa was filled up on<br \/>\nad hoc basis by appointing a member of Scheduled Castes, the<br \/>\nnumber\t of  vacancies\tfilled\tby  the\t  Scheduled   Castes<br \/>\ncandidates  would  still  remain  the same  and\t if  a\tnon-<br \/>\nScheduled Castes candidate was appointed against that<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">551<\/span><br \/>\nvacancy,  the very purpose of the Government&#8217;s\tinstructions<br \/>\ncontained  in  the  aforesaid circular No.  WG\tII-13  (29)-<br \/>\n61\/5598\t dated\tMarch 6, 1961 would be\tdefeated,  the\tHigh<br \/>\nCourt\tstill  dismissed  the  aforesaid  petition  of\t the<br \/>\nappellant on the ground that as the State Government did not<br \/>\nchoose\tto fill up the vacancy on ad hoc basis and  a  fresh<br \/>\n,competitive  examination was held to fill up the  vacancies<br \/>\navailable for the years 1973 and 1974 in which the appellant<br \/>\nnever  appeared\t and  the aforesaid vacancy  caused  by\t the<br \/>\nresignation  of\t Harinder Singh Khalsa was filled  up  along<br \/>\nwith the other vacancies in accordance with the Block System<br \/>\nkeeping\t in  view  the reserved quota, and  the\t merit\tlist<br \/>\nprepared  by the Commission stood exhausted by the  appoint-<br \/>\nment  of 12 persons against the 12 vacancies available\twith<br \/>\nrespect\t to  the, years 1971 and 1972, the persons  home  on<br \/>\nthat  list  had no right to be appointed against  a  vacancy<br \/>\nwhich  occurred\t thereafter.  The High Court  further-\theld<br \/>\nthat the appellant had no locus standi to challenge the non-<br \/>\ninclusion  of  the  vacancy caused by  the,  resignation  of<br \/>\nHarinder Singh Khalsa in the reserved quota.<br \/>\nWe frankly confess we are unable to understand the rationale<br \/>\nor approach of the High Court which manifestly runs  counter<br \/>\nto  the aforesaid instructions- of the Government  contained<br \/>\nin  Circular No. WG 11-13(29)-61\/5598 dated March  6,  1961.<br \/>\nThe  instructions  not\tonly  deprecate\t the  then  existing<br \/>\npractice  according to which in case of termination  of\t the<br \/>\nservices  of  a Government servant  belonging  to  Scheduled<br \/>\nCastes\/Tribes  and backward classes, the  resultant  vacancy<br \/>\nwas included in the normal pool of vacancies to be filled up<br \/>\nin- accordance with the block system and characterise it  as<br \/>\nrepugnant to the dominant idea of giving due  representation<br \/>\nto  the\t members of Scheduled  Castes\/Scheduled\t Tribes\t and<br \/>\nbackward classes but go on to lay down in unmistakable terms<br \/>\nthat  if the services of a Government servant be-longing  to<br \/>\nScheduled Castes\/Tribes or Backward Classes are\t terminated,<br \/>\nthe  resultant vacancy should not be included in the  normal<br \/>\npool  of  vacancies to be filled up in accordance  with\t the<br \/>\nblock  system but should be filled up on ad hoc\t basis\tfrom<br \/>\nthe  candidates belonging to these castes and classes.\t The<br \/>\ninstructions  put the matter beyond the pale of\t controversy<br \/>\nby   emphatically  declaring  that  the\t intention  of\t the<br \/>\nGovernment  was\t that  the  posts  vacated  by\tmembers\t  of<br \/>\nScheduled  Castes\/Tribes and Backward Classes should  remain<br \/>\nearmarked  and be filled up by the members belonging to\t the<br \/>\nScheduled Castes\/Tribes and Backward Classes.<br \/>\nIn  face  of these clear and categorical  instructions,\t the<br \/>\ncontention advanced on behalf of the State that the  vacancy<br \/>\nmeant  for  Scheduled Castes having been  ince\tutilised  by<br \/>\nHarinder  Singh Khalsa ceased to be a reserved\tvacancy\t and<br \/>\nthe appellant had no right to be appointed against it cannot<br \/>\nbe countenanced and consequently the claim of the  appellant<br \/>\ncannot\tbut be upheld.\tWe have, no doubt in our  mind\tthat<br \/>\nthe resultant vacancy caused by the resignation of  Harinder<br \/>\nSingh Khalsa should have gone to the appellant who  belonged<br \/>\nto  the Scheduled Caste and was entitled to it both  on\t the<br \/>\nbasis of the merit and the policy statement contained in the<br \/>\naforesaid  Circular letter of the Government as well as\t the<br \/>\nfact  that no competitive examination had been held  by\t the<br \/>\nCommission between 1972<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">552<\/span><br \/>\nand  the  end of 1974 in which the appellant could  have  or<br \/>\nshould\thave  appeared.\t  &#8216;Ale\tmay  also  state  that\t the<br \/>\nstatutory rules relating to reservation of vacancies  cannot<br \/>\noperate\t as an impediment in the way of the  appointment  of<br \/>\nthe appellant as it would by no means increase the number of<br \/>\nthe  two  posts reserved by the Government  itself  for\t the<br \/>\nmembers\t of  the  castes to which  the\tappellant  belonged,<br \/>\nduring the relevant years.\n<\/p>\n<p>For  the  foregoing reasons, we are unable  to\tsustain\t the<br \/>\njudgment  and order of the High Court.\tIn the\tresult,\t the<br \/>\nappeal succeeds and is hereby allowed with costs  quantified<br \/>\nat Rs. 2,000\/-.\n<\/p>\n<p>P.B.R.\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t Appeal allowed.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">553<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India Jagjit Singh vs State Of Punjab on 28 March, 1978 Equivalent citations: 1978 AIR 988, 1978 SCR (3) 547 Author: J Singh Bench: Singh, Jaswant PETITIONER: JAGJIT SINGH Vs. RESPONDENT: STATE OF PUNJAB DATE OF JUDGMENT28\/03\/1978 BENCH: SINGH, JASWANT BENCH: SINGH, JASWANT KRISHNAIYER, V.R. TULZAPURKAR, V.D. CITATION: 1978 AIR 988 1978 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jagjit Singh vs State Of Punjab on 28 March, 1978 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/jagjit-singh-vs-state-of-punjab-on-28-march-1978\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jagjit Singh vs State Of Punjab on 28 March, 1978 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; 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