ZAHID SNOBER Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this common judgment and order, we propose to dispose of the following cases:

(2.) The J&K Service Selection Board (hereinafter referred to as "the Board") issued three separate Advertisement Notices on 16/4/2002, 4/5/2005 and 26/5/2008 inviting applications for a total of 111 posts of Naib-Tehsildars. The selection process culminated in making recommendation by the Board in favour of selected candidates, who were appointed to the posts of NaibTehsildars. The process came to be completed in the year 2009- 10.

(3.) Initially, two sets of writ petitions came to be filed by some of the candidates who had responded to the aforesaid Advertisement Notices. In the first set of writ petition bearing SWP No. 487/2009 titled Hamidullah Dar and ors vs. Mohd Afzal Bhat and ors, a contention was raised by the petitioners therein that a good number of questions in the question-booklet, the candidates were required to answer either wrong/vague questions with more than one correct options or incorrect answers. The petitioners in the aforesaid writ petition immediately, after conduct of the written test when the selection process was yet to be finalized, filed the said writ petition challenging the written test and the selection process itself. An alternative prayer seeking a direction upon the Board to add marks for questions identified by the petitioners therein to their score and to conduct their interview was also sought. During the pendency of the said writ petition, a provisional select list was issued by the Board which was also challenged by the petitioners after making appropriate amendment to their writ petition. The Writ Court, after impleading the selected candidates as respondents to the writ petition, kept their appointments subject to the outcome of the writ petition.