The main legal point established in the judgment is that the selection process must comply with statutory rules, follow principles laid down by higher courts, and avoid arbitrariness and malpractices.

Headnote:
Selection Process - Travancore Devaswom Board - R.9 of the Recruitment Rules - The selection process for the post of Lower Division Clerks/Sub Group Officers conducted by the Travancore Devaswom Board was challenged on the grounds of violation of R.9 of the Recruitment Rules, arbitrary allocation of marks for the interview, and malpractices in the examination process. The court found that the selection process was beset with arbitrariness and irrationality, and quashed the entire selection process.
Fact of the Case:

The civil miscellaneous petitions and the original petitions were filed challenging the written examination and interview conducted by the Travancore Devaswom Board for the post of Lower Division Clerks/Sub Group Officers. The petitioners alleged that the selection process violated the recruitment rules, involved malpractices, and was in violation of a court order.
Finding of the Court:

The court found that the entire selection process was infirm, contravened R.9 of the Travancore Devaswom Rules, and did not follow the principles laid down by the decisions of the Supreme Court. The court concluded that the selection process was beset with arbitrariness and irrationality, and therefore quashed the entire selection process.
Issues: The main issues were the violation of R.9 of the Recruitment Rules, arbitrary allocation of marks for the interview, malpractices in the examination process, and violation of a court order.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the selection process contravened R.9 of the Travancore Devaswom Rules, did not follow the principles laid down by the decisions of the Supreme Court, and involved malpractices in the examination process. The court also found that the allocation of marks for the interview was arbitrary and irrational, leading to the quashing of the entire selection process.
Final Decision: The court allowed the civil miscellaneous petitions and the original petitions, and quashed the entire selection process relating to the post of Lower Division Clerks/Sub Group Officers to the Travancore Devaswom Board. The parties were directed to suffer their respective costs.

Judgment :-

Balanarayana Marar, J.

The civil miscellaneous petitions and the original petitions are connected cases. The C.M.Ps. are filed by a devotee of the temples in Travancore and by the Kshetra Samrakshana Samithi. The O.Ps. are filedby the candidates who appeared in the written examination conducted by the Travancore Devaswom Board for the post of Lower Division Clerks/Sub Group Officers. Petitioners challenged the written examination and the interview conducted by the Board. The averments in all these petitions are more or less the same.

2. The facts: First respondent, the Travancore Devaswom Board (for short the board) by proceedings dated 8-9-1991 decided to select clerks-cum-subgroup officers in the Board. Applications were invited by advertisement in Mathrubhoomi daily on 23-9-1991.20152 applications were received out of which 19615 were found to be valid. The written examination was conducted on 5-7-1992 and a short list was prepared for interview. The Board took a decision on 11-8-1992 to conduct an interview of persons who have secured 40 marks and above in the written examination. The interview was proposed to be conducted on 20-8-1992. In the meantime C.M.P. 2654/92 was filed under S.105 of the Hindu Religious Institutions Act seeking a declaration that the proceedings for appointment are illegal and for a direction commanding the Board not to conduct the interview. By order dt.19-8-1992 in CMP.2654/92 this Court permitted the interview to go on, but directed that no appointment shall be made until further orders. This order was modified on 25-8-1992 by which it was directed that the results of the interview or the rank list shall not be published and that the results shall be kept in a sealed cover after the interviews are over to be dealt with in accordance with the final orders of this Court. The interview of the candidates who secured 40 marks and above in the written examination were completed and the result was produced before this court in a scaled cover.

3. Within a few days from the filing of C.M.P. 2654/1992, the other C.M.P. and the three original petitions were filed on the same averments and seeking more or less identical reliefs. In particular, the selection process is questioned as violative of the recruitment rules. The direction to write the name of the candidate and to subscribe his signature in the answer paper is stated to be a malpractice adopted by the Board. The decision to call for interview only those candidates who have secured above 40 marks in the written examination and the decision fixing minimum of 20 marks in the interview to make a candidate suitable for selection are also questioned. According to petitioners the selection process runs counter to the recommendation of the High Power Commission appointed by this Court and is in violation of the order passed on 15-7-1991 while considering the budget estimate for the year 1991-92. The main reliefs asked for are:

1. to quash the entire selection relating to the post of Lower Division Clerks/Sub Group Officers;

2. to declare the procedure followed for conduct of the examination and valuation as violative of all norms and fairplay;

3. to direct the Board to refrain from proceeding further in the matter of selection; and

4. to conduct a fresh selection.

Incidental reliefs in the nature of a direction to the Board to produce before the court the select list and the mark list and the answer papers are also claimed. Petitioner in O.P.10831/ 92 seeks a direction to the Board for revaluation of his answer paper and to call him for interview on the basis of such revaluation.

4. The Board filed a counter affidavit in C.M.P.2654/1992 raising the following contentions:

The existing vacancies in the cadre of Clerks/Sub Group Officers were ascertained to be 28 and the anticipated vacancies as 16. A total number of 20152 candidates applied for the post, of which 19615 applications were found to be valid. The written lest was proposed to be conducted on 21-

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1993 Supreme(Ker) 112

The main legal point established in the judgment is that the selection process must comply with statutory rules, follow principles laid down by higher courts, and avoid arbitrariness and malpractices.

Cases Referred (2)

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