Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 19: Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur today upheld the judgment of the writ court regarding consideration of the candidates from the waiting list for appointment in the KAS in different categories.
The writ court had directed the respondents to consider filling up of the vacancy caused on account of non-joining of a selected candidate under Scheduled Tribe category and offer appointment to the petitioner in the left over position in any available service. The writ court had further directed for applying the same ratio in two other connected writ petitions.
However, the State challenged the judgment of the writ court before the Division Bench. During the course of arguments before the DB, Senior AAG Gagan Basotra submitted that there is no rule providing preparation of a waiting list and no waiting list has in-fact been prepared by the Public Service Commission.
However, Advocate D C Raina as well as Nitin Bhasin, senior counsel for the Public Service Commission and writ petitioner argued that Rule 57 of J&K PSC (Business and Procedure) Rules, 1980 makes a provision for waiting list of candidates at the instance of PSC which is required to be communicated to the Government.
After perusal of the Rule, the DB observed, “this provision clearly indicates that the recommendations made by the PSC would remain valid for a period of one year from the date such recommendations are communicated to the Government and the same are extendable for a further period of six months”.
“It has also been provided that the waiting list of candidates may be drawn up by the Commission and communicated to the Government along with the original recommendations to the extent to be determined by the Commission in each case. The nomenclature ‘waiting list’ does not mean anything else but is a list of candidates with names in order of merit”, the DB further said, adding “the purpose of such a list is that in case any meritorious candidate fails to join for any reason then the next meritorious candidate may be offered vacant post as it is an existing vacancy”.
“We find that writ court has been conscious while issuing direction that the petitioner-respondents be considered for appointment”, the DB said and dismissed the appeals filed by the State.
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