IMPORTANT POINT
IMPORTANT POINT
The court upheld the recruitment process as compliant with prior orders, emphasizing limited judicial review in such matters.

ORDER :

This Writ Petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is filed seeking the following relief:

“…to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction:

a) Declaring the action of the Respondents No. 2 to 4 in not carrying out recruitment to the post of Director (Personnel) for Respondent No. 5 strictly in terms of the advertisement bearing Advt. No. 101/2022 dt. 30.08.2022 by short listing candidates as per the eligibility criteria set out therein and conducting selection meeting for them and, instead, retaining the earlier list of shortlisted candidates dt. 30.06.2023 and their interview results intact and calling the Petitioner alone to appear for a selection meeting on 27.02.2024 vide OM No.2/16/2023-PESB dt. 23.02.2024 as being illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and in violation of the order dt. 21.12.2023 in W.P. No. 18698 of 2023 and order dt. 04.01.2024 in W.A. No. 8 of 2024 of this Hon’ble Court’

b) declaring the OM No.2/16/2023-PESB dt. 23.02.2024 issued by the Respondents No. 2 to 4 as being illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional; and

c) consequently, direct the Respondents No. 2 to 4 to carry out recruitment to the post of Director (Personnel) for Respondent No. 5 strictly as per the advertisement bearing Advt. No. 101/2022 dt. 30.08.2022 by shortlisting candidates afresh as per the eligibility criteria set out therein, by including the Petitioner, and conducting selection meeting for all of them and set aside the OM No.2/16/2023-PESB dt. 23.02.2024 issued by the Respondents No.2 to 4…”

2. Heard Sri Sriram Polali, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner.

Sri B. Narasimha Sharma, learned Standing Counsel for Central Government, on behalf of respondent Nos.1 to 4 and 9.

Sri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General of India, and Sri A. Sudershan Reddy, learned Advocate General, representing Sri K. Raghavacharyulu, learned Standing Counsel for respondent No.5.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is presently working as a General Manager (Personnel) in respondent No.5 Organization which is a Central Public Sector Enterprise with its headquarters located in Hyderabad. In order to advise respondent No.1 on appointments to top managerial positions and to evolve the managerial policy of Central Public Sector Enterprises, respondent No.1 has constituted respondent No.2. It is further submitted that respondent No.2 published a notification vide Advt.No.101/2022 dated 30.08.2022 inviting applications from all the eligible candidates for appointment to the post of Director (Personnel) in respondent No.5 Organization. In response, since the petitioner was fully qualified and eligible, he applied for the said post online on 15.03.2023 and his application was forwarded to respondent No.2 on 16.03.2023. According to the guidelines issued by respondent No.1, a total of twelve applicants shall be shortlisted, six of whom will be from the same Central Public Sector Enterprise or its subsidiaries. Thereafter, respondent No.2 is required to conduct a selection meeting in consultation with the Secretary of the concerned Ministry/Department. In the present case, an interview of the shortlisted applicants has to be conducted during the selection process and one name has to be sent to the concerned Ministry for its consideration, and the petitioner was excitedly anticipating the outcome, since he was confident that he would be shortlisted and that he would be called for the selection meeting. While the things stood thus, on 11.07.2023, the petitioner learned through his colleagues that some of the applicants within respondent No.5 Organization had received a letter from respondent No.2 on 30.06.2023 intimating them about the upcoming selection meeting. However, to the utter shock and dismay of the petitioner, the letter dated 30.06.2023 which included the names of the twelve applicants shortlisted for s