J U D G M E N T

The decision of the Government to cancel a selection process initiated for appointment of a Member in the State Commission established under Section 9 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (the Act), is under challenge in this writ petition.

2. The facts relevant for consideration of the questions raised in the writ petition are the following: The term of one of the Members of the State Commission was due to expire on 14.05.2016. With a view to fill up that vacancy, the Government initiated a selection process well in advance during February, 2016 itself by issuing Ext.P3 notification inviting applications for selection. The said selection process was, however, put to hold when the code of conduct for the election declared later to the State Legislative Assembly came into being. It is seen that the term of appointment of the Members of the Commission was stated wrongly in Ext.P3 notification and consequently, after the election, a fresh selection process was initiated on 10.08.2016 by issuing Ext.P1 notification inviting applications for selection. The petitioner was one among the applicants for selection pursuant to Ext.P1 notification. 49 applications were received