The Allahabad High Court has termed the selection list of Principal of State Inter Colleges of Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission as defective and has directed the Commission to issue fresh selection list in a month.
A single bench of Justice Sunita Agarwal passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Ashok Kumar and six others.
The main challenge is to the selection made by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission on the post of the Principals, Government Intermediate Colleges. Further prayers in the writ petition are to issue direction to the Commission to republish the select list from amongst the candidates who had submitted their experience certificate in the prescribed format and who were otherwise eligible.
The dispute is pertaining to the selection notified by an advertisement, i.e. Combined State/ Upper Subordinate Services(PCS) General Recruitment/Physically Handicapped- Backlog/ Special Recruitment) Examination, 2018, the last date of submission of the online application form wherein was August 6, 2018. Amongst all other posts, the post of Principals of Government Colleges were notified for selection.
Clause-10 of the advertisement provides educational qualification for the notified posts in the Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services and special qualifications prescribed in the column against the said posts. The conditions of eligibility as is clear from Clause-8 of the advertisement was that the candidates must possess all the requisite qualifications/eligibility conditions till the last date for submitting the application form.
The Court has said that the selection list should include only those candidates who are qualified for the post and who have produced three years of teaching experience certificate per signed from the Joint Director at the time of interview.
The Commission had technically included 33 people who have not filed the experience certificate signed from the Joint Director. They have been asked to file the certificate later. Such candidates will be excluded from the selection list and a fresh selection list will be released.
The Commission released a joint recruitment advertisement in the year 2018, in which at the time of application, three years experience certificate from those who qualified for the post was to be submitted and signed by Joint Director Secondary.
A total of 248 candidates were declared successful for the post of Principal in the written examination and called for the interview. All were asked to bring a signed experience certificate from Joint Director Secondary Education.
This was done at the order of the Court as some people could not send experience certificates while filling online forms. The Court allowed him to give the certificate at the time of interview. When the result was declared on September 11, 2020, the names of 33 people who did not give experience certificates at the time of interview were included in the selection list. It was sought to be removed from the challenged selection list.
The petitioner’s, Advocate R.K. Ojha said that due to the non-signing of the experience certificate, many people could not interview. In such a situation, it is discriminatory to select some people and give them a chance. It also said that the Commission is violating its own notification, which cannot be allowed.
On behalf of the Commission, it was said that after seeing the original certificate, it has been provisionally placed in the selection list.
The Court did not consider it correct and said that the Commission should follow its notifications and prepare a selection list.
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