HC upholds govt order requiring civil defence volunteer to be Delhi resident

New Delhi, May 22 The Delhi High Court has upheld the city government's order requiring a civil defence volunteer to be "resident of Delhi" as a mandatory qualification as constitutionally valid.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a plea moved by advocate Anand challenging the Delhi Revenue and Divisional Commissioner's order dated March 18, 2015.

The authorities are competent to issue required directions in regard to the location of residence of a candidate while enrolling a person as a civil defence volunteer, the court stated while dismissing the plea.

"The authorities were justified by including a condition in respect of residence and even if a person from any part of the country is residing in Delhi and is holding one of the documents referred in the order can certainly become civil defence volunteer. Thus, by no stretch of imagination, it can be held that the condition in regard to place of residence is violative of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution of India as has been argued before this Court," it said.

The court stated that the eligibility requirement that a person must be a resident of Delhi can never be said to be in violation of any constitutional right guaranteed to any citizen of the country, taking into account the fact that civil defence volunteers are expected to be the first responders in case of any disaster or hostile enemy attack.

"A person who is residing in south India does not know the geography of Delhi and if recruited as civil defence volunteer, and in case of emergency he will get lost in Delhi instead of reaching to the place where emergency has occurred," the court said.

spr/vd