SUMER SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether the decision of the Haryana Public Service Commission (for short 'the Commission') not to interview the petitioner for recruitment as Principal, Government Senior Secondary School, is vitiated by arbitrariness and violation or constitutional right of equality in the matter of employment guaranteed to him under Article 16 of the Constitution, is the only question which needs adjudication in this petition.

(2.) Perusal of the averments made in the writ petition and the record produced by Shri H.N. Mehtani, learned counsel appearing for the Commission, shows that the application dated 23.12.1998 submitted by the petitioner in response to the advertisement Annexure P1 was forwarded by the Principal. Government Senior Secondary School, Badli (Rohtak) where he was employed at the relevant time, to the District Education Officer, Rohtak. That application is shown to have been diarised in the office of the Commission at No. 11834 dated 12.3.1997. However, as the forwarding letter along with which the application form and the enclosed documents were received in the office of the Commission is not available in the record, no conclusive finding can be recorded about the date on which the District Education Officer, Rohtak and/or the Director, Secondary Education, Haryana forwarded the petitioner's application to the Commission.

(3.) It also appears from the record that the petitioner had submitted an advance copy of the application to the Commission which was received in the Commission's office before the expiry of the date specified in the advertisement. However, the same was not entertained because the petitioner had not enclosed fee of Rs. 10/- along with it. Vide Annexure P2, the Secretary of the Commission wrote to the petitioner that he cannot be called for interview because he had not deposited the required fee. The petitioner pleaded with the Commission that he had submitted application along with the required fee through proper channel and, therefore, he may be interviewed along with others. However, vide letter Annexure P5 dated 15.4.1998, the Secretary of the Commission communicated rejection of his request.