Recruiting agencies violating laws in state: HC

Chandigarh: In a major embarrassment for the state government, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the Punjab Public Service Commission, Punjab Subordinate Service Selection Board, the departmental selection committees and public sector undertakings were, more often than not, taking liberties to violate the well-settled legal position, resulting in overburdening for the courts.

Painful experience

Driven by the painful experience of facing this situation on every court working day, this observation is being made. Justice Anil Kshetarpal

Justice Anil Kshetarpal directed the state to take a policy decision before giving it publicity. Directions were also issued to circulate the decision to all recruiting agencies to “uniformly and strictly adhere to the same”.

Justice Kshetarpal also made it clear that a constitutional authority was expected to issue recruitment notice with sufficient clarity to avoid any scope for entertaining doubt.

The observations, Justice Kshetarpal asserted, were based on the experience of hearing service matters during the previous five months. The matter was placed before the Bench after a petition was filed against the state and other respondents by Harvinder Singh through senior advocate DS Patwalia with counsel AS Chadha for quashing the selection and appointment of respondent-candidates as assistant directors in the Department of Sports.

Referring to the facts of the case, Justice Kshetarpal said the recruitment notice specifically provided that a candidate was required to enclose all necessary documents, along with the application, before the cut-off date. Admittedly, public notice was not given to permit the submission of additional documents after the cut-off date.

Justice Kshetarpal also took note of Patwalia’s contentions that the application was required to be submitted completely in all respects by May 14, 2012. But the certificates issued to selected candidates were from after the last date.

Justice Kshetarpal added a Full Bench of the high court declared more than 24 years back that it was obligatory on the candidates’ part to annex all requisite certificates, along with the application, prior to the last date. Any deviation, unless provided in the rules or in the recruitment notice, was inappropriate. But it was at the most an irregularity and the procedural provision could be relaxed after issuing a public notice for all candidates to avail the benefit.