*Throws out JKSSB Knitting Instructor selection
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 18: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench order and set aside the JKSSB select list and waiting list for the post of Knitting Instructor, Divisional Cadre Jammu, holding that the recruitment process was tainted by arbitrary deviation from notified eligibility conditions and could not be sustained in law.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem dismissed two writ petitions thereby affirming the Tribunal’s decision that the selection stood vitiated.
The dispute arose from a recruitment initiated through Advertisement Notice No. 03 of 2012 dated December 28, 2012 for seven posts of Knitting Instructor under the Industries & Commerce Department. The advertised qualification was stated as 10+2 with Diploma in Knitting from ITI. Interviews were scheduled later, but during the process, the Board sought clarifications as candidates holding diplomas in Textile/Textile Technology/ Handloom Textile and other certificates had also applied and were shortlisted. The department conveyed that the qualification should be as per the recruitment rules.
Subsequently, the JKSSB issued a clarificatory notification stating that candidates shortlisted for the post for Jammu/Kashmir Divisional Cadres possessing Diploma in Knitting/Textile from a recognized institution/ITI would be interviewed on June 9, 2016. After the process culminated, a select list and a waiting list were issued.
The selection was challenged by Sheetal, who questioned the legality of widening the eligibility criteria midstream through a notification by introducing additional qualifications not specified in the original advertisement, alleging discrimination and arbitrariness. The CAT, in TA No. 61/6718/2020, by order dated November 16, 2021, held that criteria cannot be changed midway and consequently quashed the select list and waiting list qua the concerned candidates.
Before the High Court, the petitioners, including selected/<wait-listed candidates, assailed the Tribunal’s order on multiple grounds, including alleged non-service of notice and maintainability issues, while JKSSB also argued that the original challenger did not possess the requisite qualification as per the rules.
The High Court examined the service aspect and found that notices had been dispatched and deemed service was recorded, rejecting the plea that the petitioners were condemned unheard.
On the core issue, the Bench held that the Board had deviated from the qualification mentioned in the advertisement, and the introduction/recognition of additional qualifications during the course of selection amounted to an impermissible change of eligibility conditions, offending the guarantees of equality and fairness under Articles 14 and 16. The Court observed that such a process becomes arbitrary and discriminatory, and participation in a selection would not bar an aggrieved candidate from challenging an illegality that strikes at the root of the process.
Holding that the selection process was invalid from inception, the High Court found no perversity in the Tribunal’s reasoning and dismissed both writ petitions, vacating interim directions, if any, and leaving it open to the competent authority to take further steps in accordance with law.
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