Jharkhand HC stays cancellation of recruitment through JSSC-CGL

The court had, a day ago, stayed the notifications cancelling the 11th and 13th Jharkhand PSC exams, besides putting a clamp on the order cancelling the appointments of food safety officers.

Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Friday, August 21, stayed the notifications cancelling the appointments of Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs) and those recruited through the JSSC-CGL examination.

The court had, a day ago, stayed the notifications cancelling the 11th and 13th Jharkhand PSC exams, besides putting a clamp on the order cancelling the appointments of food safety officers.

“A bench of Justice Deepak Roshan today stayed the operation of the notification cancelling recruitments through the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level examination (JSSC-CGL), besides the one cancelling the appointments of CDPOs,” petitioner’s counsel Indrajit Sinha told PTI.

He said a counter affidavit will be filed by the state on September 7, and by September 14, petitioners will submit a rejoinder.

“Also, the court has made it very clear that on September 15 it will hear the matter at 12.15 pm, earlier than the scheduled 2.15 pm. The court also said that the matter has been taken on a priority basis,” he said.

Advocate Amritansh Vats, who also represented the petitioners, said the court was of the view that if the need arises, it will dispose of the matter by conducting day-to-day hearings from September 16.

“Today, the CDPO and JSSC-CGL matters were listed afresh. The court has granted an interim stay on both these matters on the ground of the principle of natural justice,” he said.

Vats said a PIL was earlier filed regarding the JSSC-CGL examination.

Govt employees laud court action

Hailing the stay, the government employees protesting the cancellation of their appointments said the decision was unjustified.

“The abrupt decision to cancel our exams had taken a toll on my mental health. Today, I am relieved that my 11 years of hard work is not a complete waste. Since 2015, I have been preparing for the JSSC-CGL exam. I am confident that we will get justice and our jobs will be safe,” said Avinash Gupta, who is posted at the Secretariat.

“Over the past few days, we were forced to sit in protest outside the secretariat,” he added.

Meanwhile, the courtroom was packed with government employees affected by the notifications. Celebrations broke out after the high court pronounced its order, giving relief to about 2,000 employees recruited through the JSSC-CGL exam.

What the court said

In Thursday’s order, the court said the JPSC exam was cancelled without following due process of law and principles of natural justice.

“This court is prima facie of the view that a regular appointment cannot be disturbed/terminated without following principles of natural justice,” said the order, a copy of which was made available on Friday.

“This court feels that the interest of justice and balance of convenience are paramount, and in the instant case, the balance of convenience is in favour of the petitioners, inasmuch as, in effect, they have been terminated without following any due process of law. Further, operation of this notification is also against public interest,” it added.

The court also directed the government’s pleader to inform the department concerned to allow the petitioners as well as others, who are similarly situated and affected by this notification, to continue their work till disposal of the writ application.

“However, looking to the overall facts and circumstances of the case, all the petitioners are directed to file an affidavit/undertaking to the effect that the final order passed by the trial court in the connected criminal case shall be binding on them and the government would be free to take appropriate action in accordance with law,” the order said.

Amid a 25-day students’ agitation over alleged irregularities in recruitment exams, the JMM-led government on August 18 cancelled 22 exams and ordered a probe into 23 others, conducted since 2014.