RANCHI: Upholding the order of single bench, the double bench of Jharkhand High Court headed by Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao, imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) for wrongfully rejecting a qualified Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate Manoj Kumar Kachhap’s application for the post of Assistant Professor. The court had earlier reserved its judgment after hearing arguments from both the parties.
Kachhap had 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.
Disappointed Kachhap made an enquiry and discovered that his application had been invalidated because the online examination fee, he had paid, did not reach the JPSC account due to some technical error. Owing to non-payment of the examination fees his application was considered invalid.
Significantly, his name was not mentioned in the official rejection list, leaving him unaware of the issue. Kachhap then approached Jharkhand High Court and filed a writ petition. After a thorough hearing, a single bench of the High Court had given the verdict in his favour.
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, which revealed that he had topped the entire selection process.
The High Court observed, "Since the candidate has appeared in the interview in the light of the court's order and has secured the highest marks in the examination, he cannot be excluded from the appointment process. In some examinations, the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category is not charged examination fee, so technical error cannot take away their right."
The court also directed JPSC to appoint him to the vacant post within four weeks, saying that a technical glitch could not be grounds to deny appointment to the most meritorious applicant.
JPSC, in its appeal argued that fee payment was mandatory and non-receipt disqualified a candidate automatically.
Appearing on behalf of Kachhap, Advocate Savyasachi argued that his client had no way of knowing the transaction failure since he was not listed among the rejected candidates.
The single bench judgement was then challenged by JPSC by filing an appeal in the division bench of the High Court. 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 on Friday.