Times of India: Chandigarh: Wednesday,
March 29, 2017.
In order to
bring transparency in the selection process carried out by the Haryana Public
Service Commission (HPSC) for various public posts, the Punjab and Haryana high
court directed the commission to disclose names of all those candidates who
clear the examination conducted by it and marks obtained by each one of them.
Justice P B
Bajanthri of the HC passed these orders while observing that the examination
and selection results conducted by the HPSC were notified only with roll
numbers and the candidates who intend to challenge the same faced difficulty
due to the commission not providing names of those candidates who had cleared
the exam and were selected for any public post.
"Therefore,
in order to meet transparency HPSC has to reveal names of those who have
cleared the examination and marks obtained by each one of them and further in
publishing select list, names and marks secured by each one of them be notified
in future in respect of future recruitments," observed Justice Bajanthri
in a detailed order released on Tuesday.
Holding the
HPSC for "playing fraud" in the selection of assistant professor
(college cadre) in physical education, the judge also observed that for efficient
functioning of a democracy, it was imperative that public service commissions
were manned by people of the highest skill and irreproachable integrity so that
selections to various posts could be immunized from political pressure or
personal favouritism and were made solely on merit.
HC also
directed "to hold a preliminary inquiry through a senior officer of the
principal secretary level and if prima facie case is made out against officials
of HPSC including secretary of HPSC, initiate disciplinary proceedings against
the officials of the HPSC within six months."
The court
also set aside the selection of six candidates and directed the HPSC to carry
out a fresh selection process considering the candidature of the petitioner.
The HC order
came in the wake of a petition filed by Kuldeep Nara of Rohtak district
challenging the process of selection to the post of lecturer/assistant
professor (college cadre) in physical education advertised in 2009.
The
petitioner had alleged that some candidates were awarded marks even for exams
in which they did appear. For instance, a candidate who admitted that she had
not cleared the national eligibility test (NET) had been assigned marks for
that exam.
Though the
selections were made in 2009, the petitioner argued that the information was
not put in public domain and he had no knowledge till he received the
information using the RTI Act.
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