(b) The colonel shall, within 40 days immediately following the receipt of a written petition for certification, either certify the petitioner for reinstatement or deny such petition for certification and serve written notice of such denial and of the reason therefor upon the applicant by first class mail, postage prepaid; provided, however, that the colonel shall deny such request submitted by or on behalf of any petitioner who is disqualified by law from placement under this section.

Any petitioner denied certification under this subdivision may within either 45 days after receiving notice of such denial or 45 days after the expiration of the time period during which the colonel is required to respond to the petitioner, file a petition to obtain judicial review in the superior court having jurisdiction in the city or town wherein the petitioner lives and a justice of said court, after having heard all of the facts, may direct that a position be made available to the petitioner if he finds that there was no reasonable ground for refusing such certification and that the petitioner was not prohibited by the hiring standards from placement under this section.