DRSADREALAM Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition once again bring to the four regularities of the Bihar Public Service Commission (in short 'the Commission') which can hardly fit in the lay out the constitution has designed for it. The petitioners have challenged the selection of candidates made and communicated by the Commission in its letter dated 14-6-1992, vide Annexure-5, for appointment on the post Una'ni Medical Officers. The grounds urged in the writ petition are diverse and many. On the one hand there are allegations of violation of the norms of recruitment, on the other, there are allegations of favouritism and corruption However, perhaps, in order to steer clear of the disputed facts, learned counsel for the petitioners confined his argument to only one fact of the grievance, namely, allocation of 50% marks for viva voce test in making the impugned selection.

(2.) The facts in so far as they are relevant to the point are these. The State Government issued an advertisement inviting applications for appointment against 88 parts of Unani Medical Officers (Gazetted class II) through the Commission on 15-9-1991 The advertisement laid down that the candidates must have a degree in B U. M S or G U M. S or equivalent qualification from a University, Board, Institute, etc., should possess six months' training of internship from a recognised institution and should be registered with the State Government as a Unani doctor. The petitioners submitted their applications and appeared for interview. The commission prepared a list of 55 candidates and recommended them for appointment in different categories in which the names of the petitioners do not find place although, according to them, they have a 'bright and brilliant academic career' and had 'faired very well' in the interview. It is said that only two out of the 55 candidates mentioned at serial nos 11 and 17 of the list possess superior academic qualification compared to petitioner No. 2 and, likewise, only some of them are said to have superior academic career than petitioner No. 1.

(3.) According to the petitioners, on previous occasions, selection for appointment of Unani Medical Officers used to be made on the basis of 100 marks allocated for the academic career and only 20 marks for the viva voce test but for oblique reasons and motive in order to select candidates of influential persons a new mode was evolved in 1992 according to which the Commission allocated 100 marks for academic career and 100 marks for viva voce test in all 200 marks in making the selection. According to petitioners, they were not selected because they were given very low mark in the interview in comparison to the selected candidates. The petitioners have asserted that as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court the allocation of marks for the viva voce cannot exceed 15% of the total marks and thus on account of allocation of 50% marks for the viva voce the whole selection process is vitiated.