The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in Srinagar has instructed the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (PSC) to clarify the rationale behind its issuance of the revised result for the Combined Competitive Preliminary Examination.
CAT Directive To J&K PSC
As reported by Live Law, The directive was issued by a bench led by members Prasant Kumar (A) and M. S. Latif Member (J), which emphasized the need for the PSC to elucidate whether any rule permitted the issuance of the notification dated November, 2023. The Tribunal also instructed the PSC to present all representations regarding candidates who sought a review of the earlier notification dated 27-10-2023 within ten days.
This development occurred during the hearing of a petition challenging the conduct of the preliminary examination by the J&K PSC on October 15, 2023. The petitioners, represented by advocate M. Ashraf Wani, raised concerns about irregularities in the answer key for the General Studies Paper-I (GS-I) during the examination.
The petitioners asserted that they initially qualified the preliminary exam based on the previous result but were declared not qualified due to changes in the answer key and the subsequent Revised Result issued by the commission.
Petitioners' Challenge and Concerns
The controversy stemmed from a notification dated November 18, 2023, in which the PSC allegedly formed a committee to re-examine the answer key, contradicting the earlier experts' opinion. The petitioners argued that this action by the PSC was arbitrary and malafide, as the experts' opinion was supposed to be conclusive.
In response, Mr. Shah Aamir, representing the Public Service Commission, assured that a clarification supported by an affidavit would be submitted to explain the circumstances leading to the issuance of the contentious notification dated November 18, 2023.
Future Hearing And Protection of Petitioners' Interests
In consideration of the submissions, the CAT issued notices to the respondents and granted them ten days to provide detailed responses. Additionally, the Secretary/Controller of examination at the PSC was directed to explain if any rule permitted the issuance of the contentious notification. Furthermore, the PSC was instructed to furnish a list of candidates who sought a review of the earlier result notification dated October 27, 2023, within ten days.
The Tribunal has scheduled the matter for another hearing on December 19, 2023, and has ensured the protection of the petitioners' interests until the resolution of the petition.
