The central legal point established in the judgment is that failure to disclose relevant employment information in a recruitment application can justify cancellation of appointment and debarment from recruitment under the relevant rules.

1. The appeal is by the Kerala Public Service Commission against the judgment of a learned judge in O.P. No. 3088 of 1976 'reported in 1977 KLT. 776. The appellant by a notification dated 2 91975 invited applications for the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police. The recruitment was a special recruitment for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, for two vacancies. The writ petitioner applied on 110 1975. A ranked list was prepared by the Commission which was to have effect from 16 11976. Two candidates were advised in the ranked list, one a scheduled caste and the other a scheduled tribe. The advice was on 22-1-1976. The writ petitioner was one of the two candidates advised as rank No. 15 in the list and the first among the scheduled tribes. He joined on 11-3-1976. At the time of his application, he was an Inspector of Central Excise in the Central Excise Office at Vandiperiyar. This fact was not shown either in the application form or in its annexure. For failure to do so, Ex. P1 memo was issued to him to show cause why he should not be permanently debarred from recruitment by the Public Service Commission and why the advice made for his recruitment should not be cancelled under R.3(c) of the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules. After receipt of Ex. P2 explanation and consideration of the same, by Ex. P4 order dated 5-6-1976, the Commission ordered that the petitioner's name be deleted from the ranked list for the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police. It was also ordered under R.3(c) of the General Rules that the advice for recruitment of the writ petitioner as Deputy Superintendent of Police be cancelled. It was further ordered that the writ petitioner be debarred. from recruitment to Public Service for a period of

three years from 5-6-1976. Two days earlier, by Ex. P3 dated 3-6-1976 the advice of the petitioner for appointment was cancelled and another candidate was advised in his place. By Ex. P5 dated 10-6-1976, the Government followed cancelling the temporary appointment of the petitioner and terminating his period of training. The writ petition to quash Exts. P3 to P5 orders was allowed by the learned Judge. The learned judge's reasoning in short was that under R.3(c) of the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules which was relied on to sustain the action impugned, the mistake on the basis of which the cancellation of the advice for appointment was made by the Commission must be shown to have been such, but for which, the Commission would not have made the advice. As the learned judge was of the opinion that even if the writ petitioner disclosed his appointment as Central Excise Inspector that would not have made any difference on the Commission's advice for appointment, the learned judge took the view that R.3 (c) would have no application and that the cancellation made on the basis of the same was invalid and unsustainable.

2. R.3(c) of the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules reads as follows:

"3. Approved Candidates.

(a) & (b): x x x x x

(c) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, the commission shall have the power to cancel the advice for appointment of any candidate to any service if it is subsequently found that such advice was made under some mistake on such cancellation the appointing authority shall terminate the service of the candidate:

Provided that the cancellation of advice for appointment by the commission and the subsequent termination of service of the candidate by the appointing authority shall be made within the period of probation of the candidate.

The provisions in this sub-rule shall be deemed to have come into force on the 31st July, 1969."

In addition to this, we would notice R.13 of the Kerala Public Service Commission Rules of Procedure which is as follows:

"13. A candidate who makes false statements before the Commission or in any of his applications submitted to the Commission or produces any false document shall be liable to be debarred from recruitment