KAILASH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These cases are taken up through Video Conferencing.

(2.) The petitioners, by way of interim measure, pray for issuance of direction upon the respondent-JPSC to allow them to participate in the Main Examination of Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination, 2021 which is scheduled to be held from 11/3/2022 to 13/3/2022, subject to final outcome of the present writ petitions or in alternative, to stay the implementation of the revised P.T result.

(3.) Learned Sr. counsel for the petitioners submits that as per Rule 17(ii) of the Rules, 2021, only if adequate number of candidates i.e. approximately 15 times of the total number of advertised posts belonging to the reserved categories are not available to be declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination, the cut-off marks is to be lowered till adequate number of candidates belonging to these categories are declared qualified for the Main Examination, however, the same is not applicable to the Unreserved category. It is further submitted that there are several infirmities in the revised P.T result published by the JPSC wherein the cut-off marks of the General category candidates has been reduced from 260 to 248 due to which the number of candidates of General category has increased from 740 to 1552, however, the same is not 15 times of the advertised vacancies of 114 relating to the said category. Moreover, the cut-off marks of ST, SC and EWS candidates have been increased in the revised result due to which several candidates belonging to the said categories, who were shortlisted in the previous list, have been thrown out on this occasion. On the one hand, the cut-off marks of the candidates belonging to ST, SC and EWS categories has been increased so as to reduce the number of candidates selected under these categories and on the other hand, the cut-off marks of Extremely Backward Classes (Annexure-I) and Backward Classes (Annexure-II) categories has been lowered down, due to which, approximately 50 times candidates have been shortlisted against notified vacancies under Extremely Backward Classes (Annexure-I) and BC-II category in the revised P.T result, which shows arbitrariness on the part of the respondents.