URVASHI Vs. STATE OF U. P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Fairness is the soul of any competitive examination. Any compromise of merit would betray confidence and trust of meritorious candidates on examination system and in case some irregularity is detected during process of examination and there is a scope to cure it, in the interest of justice and to maintain fairness, an endeavour has to be taken to cure it. This is what happened in facts and circumstances of present cases.

(2.) Petitioners have participated in selection for recruitment of 68500 Assistant Teachers in Basic Education Department in the year 2018. After examination, petitioners were in the list of selected candidates (41556) in a result declared as 16/8/2018. Petitioners thereafter appeared in counselling, their documents were verified, they were appointed and later on they joined in September, 2018 on probation of one year. Petitioners appointments were cancelled by means of similarly worded orders impugned in writ petitions and one of such impugned order dtd. 7/9/2019 annexed in leading writ petition, i.e., Writ-A No. 15229 of 2019, is reproduced hereinafter: <IMG>JUDGEMENT_202_LAWS(ALL)2_2024_1.jpg</IMG> <IMG>JUDGEMENT_202_LAWS(ALL)2_2024_2.jpg</IMG>

(3.) Sri Ashok Khare, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri Himanshu Singh, Advocate and Sri P.K. Upadhyay, Sri Umesh Prasad Singh, Sri Bashisth Narayan Pandey, Sri Sanjeev Kumar Singh, Advocates for different petitioners, submitted that above referred impugned order does not discloses any reason(s) for cancellation of appointments of respective petitioners as well as Government Order dtd. 5/10/2018 and subsequent Circular dtd. 16/8/2019 would not provide any power to concerned respondent to pass impugned orders. On basis of pleadings they submitted that respondents have no power to re-evaluate the answer booklets of petitioners as relevant rules and procedure does not permit to do so. Learned counsel have submitted that in absence of any procedure prescribed, entire exercise to recheck answer booklets was illegal and impermissible, therefore, impugned orders cannot survive.