HYDERABAD: In a setback to the state government, the Hyderabad High Court on Monday stayed the ongoing recruitment process for filling Group -II posts in the state for three weeks, amid allegations of largescale irregularities taking place in the recruitment process.
Justice MS Ramachandra Rao of Hyderabad High court restrained the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) from going ahead with certificate verification and other processes, pertaining to recruitment of Group- II posts, for three weeks.
After hearing petitions filed alleging that irregularities took place in the Group -II written examinations, the High Court had asked the TSPSC and the state government to file counter within three weeks.
These interim orders were granted in two cases filed by 34 aspirants. The petitioners challenged the preparation of merit list alleging that there were irregularities in the recruiting process, particularly in the written exam itself.
The court was told that whiteners and erasers were used by several candidates in violation of guidelines to be followed while answering the questions in Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.
“Ten persons came to the court earlier contending that they had used whiteners in the answer sheets and hence they wanted the TSPSC not to disqualify them. But, at that time, the TSPSC clarified that such papers will not be evaluated. The court also rejected their plea on April 24.
Surprisingly, now the names of those who had earlier approached the court are in the merit list, which indicates that largescale irregularities occurred in the recrutiting process,” the petitioners told the court.
After hearing the arguments from both the sides, the judge stayed the process for three weeks and asked the officials concerned to explain the issues raised by the petitioners.
In fact, the TSPSC had issued a notification for filling 1,032 posts under Group- II category last year. Around 5.65 lakh candidates appeared for the written test held in November last. Some of the aspirants have been alleging that the candidates who had used whitener were also selected for the interview and a lot of irregularities had taken place in the conduct of the exam. However, TSPSC a few days ago released the results and invited around 3,000 candidates for interviews. It also started the process of certificate verification of the candidates, attending the interviews.