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.
Source link
