RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Aug.25: The Supreme Court today set aside the order of the Jharkhand High Court related to the 6th JPSC Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination. The order paved the path for the protection of jobs of all 326 candidates selected on the basis of the first result published by the recruitment agency.
JPSC lawyer Sanjoy Peeparwal confirmed the development.
“Jharkhand High Court had cancelled the merit list and recommendation of the sixth JPSC and invalidated the appointment of 326 recommended candidates. Later, the division bench of the High Court also upheld the order of the single bench and directed JPSC to issue a revised merit list. In its order the apex court set aside both the orders,” Peeparwal said without elaborating further details.
The order came in a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Faizan Sarwar, Varun Kumar and 58 others who had lost their government job after JPSC issued a revised merit list following a high court order.
During the hearing in the Supreme Court, senior advocate Gopal Shankar Narayan, on behalf of the defendants, said that the judgment given by the Jharkhand High Court in the year 2018 in the case of Joy Gudiya is valid even today.
In that JPSC had taken a clear stand that it is necessary for the candidate to pass each paper. The Commission and the candidates were also aware of the decision of the single bench of the High Court. This decision was not challenged by any party. It was said on his behalf that according to the advertisement and rules of 6th JPSC, it is necessary for the candidates to bring minimum pass marks in all the papers. It is wrong to add the qualifying paper marks in the main exam. The stand taken by JPSC in the past was changed while preparing the result.
Advocate Subhasish Rasik Soren, appearing for the respondent Dilip Kumar Singh, who is seeking to quash the entire process, had told the bench that after the 6th JPSC main examination, JPSC had not called many candidates to the interview. The candidates who have been shortlisted for an interview should be interviewed. After that, the revised result should have been released. The qualifying paper marks have not been added to any civil services exam till now.
At the same time, on behalf of the applicants, Senior Advocate PS Patwalia and Senior Advocate V Mohana said in the reply of the respondents that in the past also the result has been released on the basis of total marks. The result of the 7th JPSC has also been declared as before. The candidates included in the first merit list are doing jobs for one and a half years. Removing them will make their future bleak. Many posts are still vacant in Jharkhand. They can be accommodated against those vacant posts by considering them sympathetically.
Whereas after the release of the revised result, the decision of the Jharkhand High Court was declared correct on behalf of the 60 selected candidates.
