Finding the entire selection and appointment process tainted and the procedures were not followed strictly, the Madras High Court has set aside the appointment of 54 junior assistants to the Coimbatore city municipal corporation in 2021 when the AIADMK was in power in the state.
“This tainted method of selection conducted by the Corporation per se itself is evident to arrive at a conclusion that it is a fraud on selection process and wholly vitiates the entire process,” said a division bench of justices SM Subramaniam and N Senthilkumar.
Referring to the messy nature of selection and appointment, in which, the eligible and ineligible candidates could not be segregated, the bench said the Court ought to strike a balance and the eyes of law does not view only the plight of the selected candidates but should also take into consideration the state of unselected candidates who should not lose trust in the system or future public post selection.
“The entire selection is arbitrary and unconstitutional, confining the basic rights of citizens for equal opportunity in public employment. Therefore, this Court has arrived at a conclusion that there is complete absence of a valid selection process in the present case and it is inevitable that the consequent appointments are to be declared as illegal,” the bench said.
The order was passed recently on the appeals filed against a single judge’s order to dismiss a writ petition refusing to interfere with the appointment.
In the present case, perusal of the original files would show that 654 applications are received out of which 440 candidates participated in the verification process. No written examinations were conducted, the bench said.
It noted the twin aspects regarding tainted selection as well as the fundamental rights of citizens are to be taken into consideration by the High Court while dealing with the process of selections.
The court directed the commissioner of the corporation to take appropriate action against those persons who had threatened one of the appellants.
The notification for the appointment of 54 junior assistants was issued on September 18, 2020; 654 applications were received; of them, 440 applicants appeared for certificate verification and 54 were appointed. The appointment orders were issued on January 8, 2021 and all of them joined the service on the very next day.
