M A I N   N E W S

HC quashes appointment of 1,983 Haryana PT instructors
Saurabh Malik/ TNS

Chandigarh, September 30
No less than 1983 physical training instructors working in schools across Haryana may have to go.

For, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has minced no words to hold that “hundreds of candidates with poor academic profile” were selected due to highly inflated marks in viva voce examination.

The scathing observations came as the Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Surinder Gupta upheld a Single Judge’s orders of quashing their appointments.

The Division Bench dismissed the appeals filed by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission with costs of Rs 1 lakh. The Bench also dismissed the appeals filed by the state and the candidates with costs of Rs 10,000 each.

The Single Judge had, on September 11 last year, quashed the appointments after ruling that the commission was “nothing but a one-man show” in the selection process.

Allowing 69 petitions, Justice Augustine George Masih had also directed the commission “to hold a fresh selection, in accordance with the law”.

The selection process was set in motion with the issuance of notice on December 28, 2006. The written test initially held on January 21, 2007, was cancelled and a new date was notified. But just a month before the scheduled date, the examination was cancelled “for administrative reasons”.

A decision was then taken on July 11, 2008, to shortlist the candidates on the basis of the minimum academic qualifications without going in for the written examination; and all eligible candidates were called for interview.

Taking up the appeal, the Bench asserted: “The journey starting from the cancellation of the written test up to the decision to call all the candidates for interview was successfully treaded by the chairman all by himself without taking any member of the commission alongside. “The concept of collective wisdom of a multi-member body was, thus, completely detoured.

The definite and conscious decision once taken by the commission has been systematically deviated from apparently to give safe passage to hundreds of candidates with poor academic profile, who could not have been otherwise short-listed, but have now made to the final selection due to the benevolence of highly inflated marks awarded to them in the viva voce”. The Bench added it could not be a mere coincidence that 90 per cent of the meritorious candidates in academics performed so poorly in the viva voce that they could not secure even 10 marks out of 30.

“Here is a case where alterations have been designed with the sole object of downgrading and not upgrading the standards of selection to public employment.”

Coming down heavily on the then chairman, the Bench added the decisions on method of recruitment, besides mode and criterion of selection were required to be taken by the “commission” alone.

“The chairman could not have usurped those powers and assumed the role of the commission,” the Bench held.

Before parting with the order, the Bench observed: “Why was the Education Department in such a hurry or overly anxious to give appointments to selected candidates with doubtful academic credentials is beyond anyone’s comprehension. The proper and desired course would have been to verify the genuineness of the certificates and the credentials and then offer appointments".

Selected despite poor marks

• Written test not held
• Candidates shortlisted on minimum academic qualifications
• Chairman, instead of a multi-member commission, holds interview
• Hundreds of candidates with poor academic profile made the final selection “due to the benevolence of highly inflated marks awarded to them in the viva voce”