Shimla, Jan 9,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has quashed the appointments of several candidates selected for the position of Para Pump Operators by the Jal Shakti Department, citing non-compliance with the prescribed eligibility criteria.
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The petitioner, Rakesh Kumar, represented by advocate Ganesh Barowalia had challenged the merit list issued by the department, alleging that certain selected candidates were awarded marks for their experience based on certificates that were not issued by the prescribed authority, as per the advertisement. The advertisement clearly stated that only experience certificates issued by the Executive Engineer of the Jal Shakti Vibhag or other relevant authorities would be considered valid.
In the 7 page order, Justice Ajay Mohan Goel observed, “the eligibility of the candidates had to be assessed on the basis of the contents of the advertisement… what was held out to the candidates was what is contained in Annexure P-1.”
The court found that candidates such as Sumit Kumar, Pardeep Chaudhary, Naresh Kumar, Deepak Choudhary, and Dinesh Kumar had been granted experience marks based on certificates issued by an outsourcing agency or other unauthorized authorities. This violated the conditions set out in the advertisement. As Justice Goel further stated, “the selection of the selected candidates is based on experience certificates which were not issued by the Competent Authority as was mentioned in the advertisement.”
As a result, the court quashed their appointments and directed the department to re-assess the merit of all candidates based solely on valid experience certificates issued by the appropriate authority. The decision mandates that the vacated positions be filled by eligible candidates on merit.
The court’s order highlights the importance of strict adherence to recruitment guidelines, with Justice Goel emphasizing, “appointment offered to them is accordingly quashed and set aside.”
Advocate Ganesh Barowalia has termed this court verdict as as a victory of fairness and meritocracy.
