Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 15: High Court has stayed the selection/appointment of 29 Assistant Engineers (Electrical).
After hearing Advocate Abhinav Sharma appearing for the petitioners and Senior Advocate D C Raina for the Public Service Commission, Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur observed, “petitioners challenge the selection conducted by the Public Service Commission on the ground that the candidates were selected on the basis of a non uniform criteria, inasmuch as, various candidates were interviewed by different selection committees constituting of different expert members”, adding “it is argued that it was not possible for the different committees to adopt the same adjudging standards and determine inter se merit amongst various candidates appearing before them”.
“By changing the composition of the selection committee, merit of the competing candidates which formed a class in itself was thus adjudged not by one single committee but by the two committees. The standards of adjudging the merit of the candidates, admittedly, got changed. There having been no uniformity in adjudging the merit of the competing candidates, the selection process was rendered arbitrary, violating the Constitutional guarantees contained in Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India”, the High Court observed.
“From the entire matter, prima facie, it is established that the appointments were preceded by a selection which was conducted by more than one committee consisting of different members. The appointments based upon such a selection cannot be permitted to be made”, High Court said.
Accordingly, High Court issued notice to the respondents returnable within two weeks. In the meantime, subject to objections and till next date of hearing before the bench, High Court stayed the selection/appointment of private respondents.
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