GUWAHATI: The Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court has quashed the appointments of 935 Nagaland police constables who were recruited between January 2018 and October 2019 without any advertisement.
In an order issued on Friday, Justice Devashis Baruah directed the Nagaland government to initiate a fresh selection process by advertising the posts in newspapers. The court ordered that the selection must be held in accordance with the law.
A group of indigenous unemployed youths, possessing the requisite qualifications and eligibility, had earlier filed a batch of writ petitions challenging the recruitment.
They approached the court after learning that only 206 posts were filled through open recruitment, while the 935 appointments were made "through the backdoor," denying opportunities to other deserving candidates.
"The State of Nagaland filed their affidavit-in-opposition to the writ petitions… In the affidavit-in-opposition, a preliminary objection was raised as regards the maintainability of the writ petitions. It was contended that the appointments so made… are governed by… the Nagaland Police Manual," the court said in its order.
In a temporary relief for the 935 constables, the court allowed them to continue in service for six months or until fresh appointments are made, whichever comes first.
The court further directed that the fresh selection process be completed, preferably within six months. Those whose appointments were set aside would also be eligible to participate in the new selection process.
The court also ordered that the upper age limit for the affected constables, as well as for the petitioners, would be relaxed, though "there shall be no relaxation in the matter of basic qualifications as well as the departmental physical criteria."