9911796707
TMI Blog1964 (9) TMI 93X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... unsuccessful while others were appointed. In some of the petitions the successful candidates are joined as respondents. The facts are as follows : By a notification dated September 26, 1959, the Mysore Public Service Commission announced that a competitive examination would be held for direct recruitment for Class I and Class II posts relating to certain Administrative Services and numerous applicants including the petitioners themselves as candidates. On September 5, 1960, the Public Service Commission modified the earlier notification and instead of holding an examination announced that the selection would be made solely on the results of a viva voce test. The petitioners characterised this change as opposed to the Mysore Administrati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d the Commission to call them and the Commission then called 203 candidates who were in the same category as the three petitioners in the High Court. It may be pointed out that at the first viva voce test eighty-eight candidates and at the second test ten candidates were selected, thus making the total number ninety-eight. Encouraged by what had happened to those who had petitioned to the High Court, the other candidates who had not succeeded applied for writs under Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. Their petitions were summarily dismissed by the High Court. They, thereupon, filed the present petitions under Art, 32 of the Constitution and that is how these fifty-five petitions are before us. At an earlier hearing of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (Total-16). It was admitted before us that many of the rejected candidates who are petitioners before us had obtained more marks than some of the selected candidates. In an affidavit filed on August 4, 1964, the Public Service Commission explained the procedure followed and also stated that 7 of the petitioners had obtained marks below 22% and thus were not entitled to succeed at all because their marks were lower than the last candidate selected and they could have no complaint. This is true, but unfortunately, their petitions cannot be dismissed out of hand because three candidates were selected who had not taken the viva voce test and in view of this these petitioners have a grievance, however slender it may be. The State and the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tes selected on a compromise before the High Court, three of whom were not even called for the viva voce test. Taking the case of the sixteen candidates first, it appears to us, that since most of these candidates had obtained fewer marks than some of the rejected candidates it is impossible to sustain their selection. To begin with it was wrong of the High Court to allow a compromise of this kind to be effected when it was patently obvious that three candidates had not attended the viva voce test at all and there was nothing before the High Court for comparing the remaining thirteen candidates with those who had failed in the selection. There were allegations of nepotism which had not been abandoned and find now that most of these candi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e by Government, even if such a candidate has not applied in response to the advertisement of the Commission. In our opinion, the foot-note is not intended to bypass the selection based on merit. It is intended to cover a case of exceptional merit. These candidates had appeared at the viva voce test and some of them had obtained very poor marks indeed. The learned Attorney-General attempted to show that twelve candidates were from the backward classes and four from the scheduled castes. That, in our judgment, is no justification for the selection in the manner it was actually done. It seems surprising that Government should have recommended as many as twenty-four names and the Commission should have approved of all those names withou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... heir selection was not proper and must be set aside. It is very unfortunate that these persons should be uprooted after they had been appointed but if equality and equal protection before the law have any meaning and if our public institutions are to inspire that confidence which is expected of them we would be failing in our duty if we did not, even at the cost of considerable inconvenience to Government and the selected candidates do the right thing. If any blame for the inconvenience is to be placed it certainly cannot be placed upon the petitioning candidates, the candidates whom this order displaces or this Court. With these observations we allow the petitions to the extent indicated above with one set of hearing fee. Petition ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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