New Delhi, May 23
Giving the Punjab Government a clean chit in the selection of Assistant District Transport Officer, (ADTOs), the Supreme Court has lambasted those who had challenged the selection process as it found them guilty of misrepresentation and concealing material facts before the court.
Taking a serious view of the suppression of facts by the petitioners, a Bench comprising Mr Justice Shivaraj V. Patil and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat imposed costs of Rs 5,000 each on them. The petitioners’ contention that the selection process had been vitiated by the fixing of higher marks for interview than had been prescribed had proved to be false, the court said.
While the petitioners had contended that the maximum marks for the written test and the interview were fixed at 150 and 100, respectively, records showed that the authorities concerned had fixed 200 marks for the written test and 25 and 15 marks for the interview and other qualifications, respectively.
The court said maintaining the sanctity of the proceedings and furnishing material facts on oath in the affidavit required that the parties did not conceal material facts with a design to gain advantage.
If a person made an attempt to conceal facts from the court, he would do it on his own risk and face the consequences, the court observed, adding that no lenient view could be taken of such litigants to ensure the purity in the administration of justice.
