Ranchi, June 13 (IANS) In a sharp rebuke to the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), the High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh for wrongfully rejecting a qualified candidate’s application for the post of Assistant Professor.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao dismissed JPSC’s appeal and upheld an earlier single-bench order directing the appointment of Manoj Kumar Kachhap.

The case stems from a 2018 recruitment drive for four posts of Assistant Professor in the Nagpuri language.

Kachhap had applied and scored 72.10 out of a possible 85 marks in the academic evaluation. However, his name did not appear in the list of candidates shortlisted for interviews.

Upon inquiry, Kachhap discovered that his application had been invalidated because the online examination fee he had paid did not reach the JPSC account due to a technical error. Crucially, his name was not mentioned in the official rejection list, leaving him unaware of the issue.

Challenging the exclusion, Kachhap filed a writ petition in the High Court. The single bench ordered that he be included in the interview process, noting that the final decision would hinge on the court’s verdict. JPSC complied, and Kachhap appeared for the interview.

Although the final results were declared on December 23, 2021, one post remained unfilled in compliance with the court’s interim directive. The court then asked JPSC to submit Kachhap’s interview marks in a sealed envelope. It was revealed that he had topped the entire selection process.

Taking serious note of the situation, the court directed JPSC to appoint him to the vacant post within four weeks.

It ruled that a technical glitch could not be grounds to deny appointment to the most meritorious applicant.

The bench also pointed out that many examinations exempt Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates from paying fees, making JPSC’s rigid stance even less defensible.

JPSC appealed the single bench’s ruling, arguing that fee payment was mandatory and non-receipt disqualified a candidate automatically.

However, Kachhap’s counsel, Advocate Savyasachi, argued that his client had no way of knowing the transaction failure since he was not listed among the rejected candidates.

After considering submissions from both sides, the division bench upheld the single bench’s order and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on JPSC.

–IANS

snc/skp