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HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
P.D. AUDIKESAVALU, J.
U. Kaviyarasan & Another - Appellantss
Versus
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission Represented by the Secretary Chennai & Another - Respondents
W.P. Nos. 7141, 7414, 7486, 7934, 8059 of 2023 & W.M.P. Nos. 7211, 7578, 7582, 8183, 8184, 8326, 8435 of 2023
Decided On : 20-03-2023
Writ Petition - Combined Engineering Services - Clause 5, 12, 15, 16 of the recruitment notification - The court ordered the Respondent to inform all candidates whose online applications were rejected for not uploading required documents to appear for oral interview with original documents or be treated as general candidates for open competition. The final result of the recruitment was ordered to be published after this exercise.
Fact of the Case:
The Petitioners applied for Combined Engineering Services but their register numbers were not included in the list of provisionally admitted candidates due to failure to upload required documents. They sought the court's intervention under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the rejection of the applications without disclosing the reasons and without providing the opportunity to rectify the defects was not justified. It ordered the Respondent to inform the rejected candidates to appear for oral interview with original documents or be treated as general candidates for open competition.
Issues: The issues involved the rejection of online applications for failure to upload required documents, the lack of disclosure of reasons for rejection, and the denial of opportunity to rectify the defects.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the rejection of applications without informing the reasons and without providing the opportunity to rectify the defects was not in line with the principles of natural justice. It emphasized the importance of treating identically situated persons alike and ensuring non-discrimination.
Final Decision: The court ordered the Respondent to inform all rejected candidates to appear for oral interview with original documents or be treated as general candidates for open competition. The final result of the recruitment was ordered to be published after this exercise.
JUDGMENT
(Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus, directing the Respondents to disclose the reasons for not including the register number 1901002075 of the Petitioner in the list of candidates provisionally admitted to onscreen certificate verification for the posts included in Combined Engineering Services pursuant to Notification No. 10/2022 dated 04.04.2022 to enable the Petitioner to rectify technical defects, if any, in his online application to enable the Petitioner to participate in the oral interview scheduled to be held on 08.03.2023 or any other subsequent date and the counselling under the Persons Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM) quota for the posts included in the Combined Engineering Services.
Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the Second Respondent herein in his list dated 22.02.2023 and the Annexure thereto, by which the online Application of the Petitioner was rejected for various reasons, quash the same in so far as it relates to the rejection of the online Application of the Petitioner (Application) No. 2210015397: Register No. 1805003103) and issue consequential directions to the Respondents herein to allow the Petitioner to attend oral test for selection by direct recruitment to the posts included in the Combined Engineering Services to be held from 08.03.2023 to 23.03.2023 or any other subsequent date.
Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records pertaining to impugned list dated 22.02.2023 published by the Second Respondent in pursuant to Notification No.10/2022 dated 04.04.2022 for posts included in Combined Engineering Services and quash the same in respect of rejection of the Petitioner and consequently direct the Respondents to include the Petitioner Register No. 2501008144 in the list of provisionally admittted to oral test for the posts included in Combined Engineering Services.)
Common Order:
1. Heard Mrs. Nalini Chidambaram, Learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioners in W.P. No.7141 of 2023, Mr. D.Baskar, Learned Counsel for the Petitioner in W.P. No. 7486 of 2023, Mr. T.Muthukrishnan, Learned Counsel for the Petitioners in W.P. No. 8059 of 2023 and Mr. J.Ravindran, Learned Additional Advocate General assisted by Mr. R.Bharanidharan, Learned Counsel appearing for the Respondents in all the Writ Petitions and perused the materials placed on record, apart from the pleadings of the parties.
2. The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, which is the Respondent in these Writ Petitions, had by Advertisement No. 613 issued Notification No. 10 of 2022 dated 04.04.2022 inviting applications from eligible candidates only through online mode upto 03.05.2022 for direct recruitment to the vacancies in the post of Combined Engineering Services.
3. The Petitioners in these Writ Petitions had applied online in furtherance to the said notification, but their register numbers had not been included in the list of provisionally admitted candidates to on-screen certificate verification published on 22.02.2023 in the official website of the Respondent based on the results of the written examination conducted on 02.07.2022. Complaining that no reasons had been assigned for not having included their names in the said list, the Petitioners have invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution for appropriate directions.
4. It has been demonstrated before this Court by the Respondent that as the Petitioners have not uploaded certain essential documents in support of their respective claims for reservation in the notified vacancies, their applications have been rejected, and instead of submitting tho
The main legal point established is the requirement to adhere to principles of natural justice, including informing the reasons for rejection and providing the opportunity to rectify defects, in admi....
The rejection of the petitioner's application disentitled him from claiming reservation but did not deprive him of the right to participate in the recruitment in open competition category.
Selection process in public service must adhere to merit and judicial directives; prior selections can be revisited without breaching natural justice if candidates prove higher qualifications.
No additions/change being permitted.
The court established that candidates participating in a recruitment process are bound by the communication methods specified in the advertisement, and failure to check publicly available information....
The court ruled that candidates must adhere to the selection process terms, and failure to appear for document verification despite multiple opportunities negates any claim for relief.
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