The government has the authority to cancel examinations based on irregularities, and courts should not unduly interfere with government actions when there is material for the government to act.

Judgment

RAJENDRA BABU, J.

( 1 ) CIVIL Appeal No. 6461/1998an original application was filed before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Andhra Pradesh [hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal] by respondent No. 5 for declaration of results of 1998 District Selection Committee written test in Anantapur District, for declaration that it is arbitrary, illegal and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution and for a direction to declare the appropriate results. The Tribunal noticed that originally examinations had been held on 19. 4. 1998 and 20. 4. 1998 in Anantapur District to select secondary school teachers mainly for Language Pandit cadre. The Government of Andhra Pradesh by an order made on 15. 5. 1998, after noticing certain allegations of mass copying cancelled the examination of the District Selection Committee in respect of Anantapur District and directed further action being taken in the matter. Thereafter examinations were held on 11. 7. 1998. Results of the same were published on 29. 7. 1998 and interviews were conducted on 27. 8. 1998. The Tribunal noticed that inasmuch as the Government had already cancelled the examinations did not consider it fit to order an enquiry into various lapses in Anantapur District and held that the main relief to declare the results had become infructuous. On that basis, the Tribunal disposed of the application. The matter was carried by way of a writ petition before the High Court.

( 2 ) THE contentions raised before the High Court are that the Government had cancelled examinations in Anantapur District on the basis of newspaper reports and such issues has been raised on the floor of the Legislative Assembly; that there was no other material, much less, legally acceptable to cancel examinations; that the circumstances and the material are similar to other districts and following the analogy of Anantapur District, the Government ought to have cancelled the examinations in all the districts as they are similarly situated and in not doing so, the Government had acted with discrimination; that the Tribunal ought to have directed the publication of results in all the centres of Cuddapah, but erred in withholding the declaration of results even ignoring the report of the Secretary to the School Education.

( 3 ) THE High Court found that an enquiry had been held in respect of other districts and on the basis of the enquiry concluded that there was no need to cancel the examinations en-mass, as disclosed in the letter dated 24. 4. 1998 sent by the Deputy Secretary to the Chief Minister an enquiry report had been called for but even in the absence of such an enquiry or report, the Government could not have cancelled the examinations.

( 4 ) THE stand of the appellants is that on account of several representations and complaints made by the candidates and write ups in the newspapers, the District Collector, Anantapur District ordered an enquiry to be conducted by the Superintendent of Police on 27. 4. 1998. On 25. 4. 1998, Superintendent of Police submitted a report to the Collector pointing out, inter alia, the following irregularities in the conduct of the examinations:1. There was mass copying. 2. Staff appointed for invigilation was totally inexperienced. 3. The concerned authorities did not appoint sufficient number of invigilators at majority of examination centres. 4. Large number of Superintendents did not attend the duties on the examination day.

( 5 ) SEVERAL staff were appointed for examination duty only to assist their kith and kin.

( 6 ) THERE was collusion between the invigilating staff and the candidates and thereby the candidates were allowed to sit in the examination halls as they liked.

( 7 ) PROPER sitting arrangement in the examination centres was not made.

( 8 ) THE selection of examination centres itself was improper and that the concerned authorities have ignored those centres with better facilities and had selected private schools as examination centres.

( 9 ) OUTSIDERS en