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2004 DIGILAW 151 (JK)

Sanjeev Kumar v. State

2004-05-18

Y.P.NARGOTRA

body2004
Through these writ petitions the petitioners are challenging the selections/appointments of private respondents as Junior Assistants made by the J&K Service Selection Board. The Service Selection Board issued advertisement notice No. 3/1996 on 24.12.1996 inviting application from the eligible candidates for filling up the vacancies shown in the advertisement notice. The qualification prescribed for the post of Junior Assistant was Matric with knowledge of typewriting with the speed of 30 words per minute. Some more vacancies becoming available, another advertisement notice No. 7/1997 was issued. The petitioners in these petitions, alongwith private respondents, applied for their selection for the posts notified for the districts of Rajouri and Poonch. The petitioners were not selected by the Board, whereas private respondents came to be selected for appointment. The petitioners are calling in question their selections, inter alia on the grounds that the selections had been made in violation of the norms of fairness, corrupt practices were adopted by the Selection Committee, typing sheets of the candidates pertaining to the typing test held by the committee were replaced and in some cases candidates were allowed to complete their task subsequently. Selection process was initiated in the year 1998 in the month of April and was completed within a weeks time yet for two long years the list remained subject to modification, changes and interpolations at the behest of some political persons. The petitioners were meritorious but their merit was ignored for extraneous considerations and instead private respondent, who were less meritorious, were selected. 2. The stand of the respondent-Board is that in response to the advertisement notices issued by the Board 1240 candidates applied against 29 posts of Junior Assistants in district cadre Rajouri and similarly 979 candidates applied in respect of the 18 posts available in district cadre Poonch. The prescribed qualification for the said post was Matric with knowledge of typewriting with 30 words per minute speed. For conducting type test of the candidates of Jammu Division the Chairman S.S.Board authorized S.Harbans Singh and for Kashmir Division candidates Sh.Abdul Qadeer was authorized for conducting such test. The Convener S.Harbans Singh as per the orders of the Chairman co-opted two members in the selection committee who were District Employment Officer and Superintendent ITI Rajouri in case of Rajouri district and District Employment Officer and Superintendent ITI in case of district Poonch. The Convener S.Harbans Singh as per the orders of the Chairman co-opted two members in the selection committee who were District Employment Officer and Superintendent ITI Rajouri in case of Rajouri district and District Employment Officer and Superintendent ITI in case of district Poonch. For type test and making selections of Junior Assistants following criteria was approved by the Board:- 1, Weightage to the basic qualification (i.e. Matric With 30 words speed p/m in typing test)., 55 points 2. Weightage to the addl.per word one point subject to maximum 30 points)., 30 points 3, Weightage to the addl.qualification., (a), TDC-I(10+2) = 2 points., 5 points (b), Graduation = 5 points., (c), 4. Viva voce, 10 points 3. The viva voce test was however dispensed with in view of the decision dated 9.10.1997 taken by the Board under the chairmanship of its Chairman and it was decided that selections would be made purely on merit and that the reservation rules would apply to the selections. It is also averred by the Board in its reply that the selection committees conducted type tests of the candidates w.e.f. 1.4.1998 to 4.4.1998 and 6.4.1998 to 7.4.1998 at I.T.I. Rajouri, in District Poonch from 28.4.1998 to 30.4.1998 as well as on 3.5.1998. 4. Each of the candidate was provided with type test paper containing 300 words to be typed out in ten minutes. To evaluate candidates per minute typing speed thereafter type script were got evaluated and a statement showing per minute speed of the candidates was prepared. Then merit list was prepared by giving higher weightage to candidates and according to the merit list 18 candidates, 17 in open category and one in RBA category, were recommended for appointment as Junior Assistants in district cadre Rajouri as out of five posts reserved for RBA category only one candidate could qualify the type test. No candidate belonging to other reserved categories was able to qualify the type test. In respect of Poonch district it is stated that likewise merit list was prepared and on the basis of type test the petitioner in both the petitions had failed to make the grade, their merit was less than the last candidate selected. No candidate belonging to other reserved categories was able to qualify the type test. In respect of Poonch district it is stated that likewise merit list was prepared and on the basis of type test the petitioner in both the petitions had failed to make the grade, their merit was less than the last candidate selected. As regards the merit position in respect of SWP 1222/2000 pertaining to Rajouri district it has been stated that except petitioner No. 2, whose speed in type test was 30.17 P/M all other petitioners were found to be below 30 words p/m. Whereas the merit position of the respondents 4 to 18 was more than the petitioners, and the type speed of the last selected candidate was found to be 32 words p/m. Therefore, according to the respondents the petitioners had failed to make the grade, as such, were not selected by the Board. 5. Similarly with regard to the selection pertaining to Poonch district (SWP 1237/2000) it has been submitted by the respondents that the petitioner Mohd Hafiz had failed to qualify the type test whereas respondents 6 to 11 had been found with the typing speed ranging from 30.5 to 38 words p/m As according the respondent-Board the petitioner had not been able to make the grade in comparison to respondents 6 to 11, he was not selected. 6. During the course of hearing it was pointed out by learned counsel for the petitioners that the Selection Board which completed the process of selection was superseded by the Government on the charges of corruption and a new Board came to be constituted in February 1999. The newly constituted Board forwarded the select list prepared by the former members of the Board to the Government for its orders. The Cabinet met and considered the issue and decided that the select list drawn by the erstwhile Board shall be acted upon if furnished to the Chairman before constitution of the new Recruitment Board. In other cases the exercise will be taken denovo after consulting the Law Department as to whether the recruitment be limited to applications already received or applications be invited afresh. Learned counsel for the respondent-Board submitted that the merit list stood already prepared by the erstwhile members of the Board and stood furnished to the then Chairman therefore it could be acted upon. Learned counsel for the respondent-Board submitted that the merit list stood already prepared by the erstwhile members of the Board and stood furnished to the then Chairman therefore it could be acted upon. The supersession of the Board on corruption charges has not been denied and it is submitted that supersession was for administrative reasons. 7. I have perused the record of selections submitted by learned counsel for the Board. The memo of proceedings prepared by the Convenor S.Harbans Singh which also bears the signatures of two other members of the selection committee pertaining to selection of Junior Assistants in district cadre Poonch was submitted by him to the Chairman on 3.3.1999. The endorsement made by the Chairman thereon indicates that this memo was not accompanied by any award sheet. In the record award roll regarding typing test conducted in the month of April/May 1998 is available. I have perused the same. This award roll bears the signatures of the Convener of the selection committee only namely S.Harbans Singh. Signatures of other members of the selection committee which conducted the type test i.e. District Employment Officer and Superintendent ITI Poonch are conspicuously absent. Same is the case with respect to memo of proceedings pertaining to the selection of Junior Assistants for district cadre Rajouri and the award roll. This award roll also bears the signatures of Harbans Singh Convener of the selection committee and signatures of other members i.e. District Employment Officer Rajouri and Superintendent ITI Rajouri are absent. 8. Learned counsel for the petitioners have argued that selection was made on extraneous considerations by the Convener S.Harbans Singh, who has been arrayed as a party respondent in person in both the petitions. The allegations of malafide have been raised against him as well as the Board but he has not chosen to file any counter affidavit to rebut these allegations. Be it so, even if it is assumed that there was no mala fide still the selection made by the respondent-Board cannot legally be sustained for the reason that the award rolls do not bear the signatures of all the members of the selection Committee. The absence of signatures of other members, except the Convener on the award roll indicates that award rolls were prepared by the Convener Harbans Singh alone and therefore cannot be considered to be the award rolls prepared by the selection committee. The absence of signatures of other members, except the Convener on the award roll indicates that award rolls were prepared by the Convener Harbans Singh alone and therefore cannot be considered to be the award rolls prepared by the selection committee. In this view of the matter the entire selection of the Junior Assistants made by the Board is vitiated. 9. On the other hand the contention of learned counsel for the respondents is that as the minutes of the proceedings submitted by the Convener to the Chairman of the Board bear the signatures of all the members, therefore, by implication it can be assumed that members of the selection committee had admitted the correctness of the award rolls on the basis of which selection of candidates mentioned in the minutes of the proceedings submitted by the Convener to the Chairman was made as it is based upon the correct position of the award rolls. 10. I am not in agreement with the learned counsel for the respondents. Admittedly the selection committee which took the type test consisted of three members. The award rolls through which points were awarded to the candidates could be valid only if it was based upon the assessment of all the three members. To show that all the members had made the assessment of the candidates as per the award roll, it was necessary and incumbent upon all the members to put their signatures on the award rolls in token of the correctness of the points awarded to each of the candidate. Simply because they had signed on the minutes of the proceedings it cannot be presumed that they were admitting the correctness of the award roll which did not even form part of the memos of proceedings submitted by the Convener to the Chairman and especially so when the said memo was submitted after about a year of the conducting of the type test. It may gainfully be said that the said memo of proceedings submitted by the Convener to the Chairman did not mention about the individual points awarded to the persons shown to have been selected as a result of the type test conducted by the selection committee. The selection on the basis of typing test was to be made by the selection committees but from the record it appears to be the selection of the Convener, S.Harbans Singh alone. 11. The selection on the basis of typing test was to be made by the selection committees but from the record it appears to be the selection of the Convener, S.Harbans Singh alone. 11. Without saying anything about the malafides on the part of the members constituting the selection committee or for that matter of the Convener S.Harbans Singh it can safely be concluded that the selection process suffers from inherent illegality because of the fact that the award rolls through which the points were awarded to the candidates do not bear the signatures of all the members of the selection committee and therefore cannot be said to be the assessment validly made by the selection committee. The selection made on the basis of these award rolls is vitiated and merits to be set aside. 12. Accordingly both the writ petitions are allowed and the impugned selection of the private respondents in both the petitions made for their appointments as Junior Assistants in district cadre Rajouri and Poonch is quashed. The respondents are directed to initiate fresh process of selection in respect of the available vacancies Disposed of accordingly.