Service Law – Selection process – Annulment of – Allegation of demand of bribes from candidates – Matter arose out of selection conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) pursuant to notification for filling up posts of Group ‘A’ and Group ‘D’ in the State – There were complaints of malpractices and irregularities in the conduct of examinations as well as interviews – FIR was lodged against Chairman, Member and some officials of the KPSC – On receipt of interim report of CID, State Government directed annulment of evaluation of written examination as well as personality test – However, KPSC published the select list – The State withdrew the requisition for appointments – Order challenged by the successful candidates before Tribunal, which quashed the decision of the State Government and directed appointment of the selected candidates – High Court held that Tribunal committed error in directing appointment of persons validity of whose selection was seriously doubted by the Government – Propriety of – Held: Proper – High Court has referred to material on record in the form of call details between candidates and members of the KPSC – All the members who interviewed the candidates awarded exactly the same marks to particular candidates – There was no objective assessment by the individual members – 566 candidates were awarded same marks which appeared to be pre-determined – Digital video recorder in the KPSC building was replaced to destroy evidence – No ground to interfere with the view of the High Court that the selection could not have been sustained – If selection is found to be tainted in any manner, it is always open to the concerned authority to annul such selection to maintain purity of the selection process – It may not always be necessary to segregate tainted and untainted candidates when the process itself is tainted – Moreover, at pre-appointment stage, decision to cancel the selection process can be interfered only if it is patently arbitrary, malafide or illegal – In instant case, the High Court has rightly applied these parameters and found no case for interference with decision to annul selection.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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