UNION OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Vs. C GOBALAKRISHNAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY consent of both the parties, Writ Petition itself is taken up for disposal.

(2.) AGGRIEVED by the order of the Central Administrative tribunal, Chennai Bench, dated 05. 02. 2004, made in O. A. No. 428 of 2003, the Union public Service Commission, New Delhi , has filed the above Writ Petition.

(3.) IN this regard, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has brought to our notice the decision of the Apex Court reported in (1994) 6 SCC. 293 ( M. P. Public Service Commission v. Navnit Kumar Potdar ), wherein their Lordships approved the action of the Commission in short-listing the candidates, because, the eligible candidates were more in number. The said case relates to the selection for the post of Presiding Officers of Labour Courts. The question that was posed before the supreme Court was that whether in the process of short-listing, the Commission has altered or substituted the criteria or the eligibility of a candidate to be considered for being appointed against the post of Presiding Officer, Labour Court. The following conclusions of Their Lordships are relevant, "6. . . . . . . . It may be mentioned at the outset that whenever applications are invited for recruitment to the different posts, certain basic qualifications and criteria are fixed and the applicants must possess those basic qualifications and criteria before their applications can be entertained for consideration. The Selection Board or the Commission has to decide as to what procedure is to be followed for selecting the best candidates from amongst the applicants. IN most of the services, screening tests or written tests have been introduced to limit the number of candidates who have to be called for interview. Such screening tests or written tests have been provided in the concerned statutes or prospectus which govern the selection of the candidates. But where the selection is to be made only on basis of interview, the Commission or the Selection Board can adopt any rational procedure to fix the number of candidates who should be called for interview. It has been impressed by the courts from time to time that where selections are to be made only on the basis of interview, then such interviews/viva voce tests must be carried out in a thorough and scientific manner in order to arrive at a fair and satisfactory evaluation of the personality of the candidate.