Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 12

In a judgment that will change the way recruitment to the police is made, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it mandatory for the state to follow the guidelines issued by it in one of its orders on height measurement.

Discrepancies in police recruitment

• In all, 209 petitions have been filed by aspirants challenging the recruitment of constables, stating the state & other respondents didn’t allegedly adhere to terms specified in the ad
• The petitioners argued that the state acted unfairly. It wrongly selected candidates lower in merit. Height measurement was also challenged in the HC on the ground of discrepancies

The direction came as Justice Arun Monga asserted unnecessary litigation regarding height measurement could have been avoided had the state government followed the methodology suggested by the HC.

Justice Monga was hearing 209 petitions filed by unsuccessful candidates challenging selection/recruitment of Punjab Police constables.

Justice Monga made it clear that the guidelines in the case of “Sonu Singh versus the State of Haryana and others” would be followed for recruitment to other departments as well, where height was one of the criteria for selection.

The HC in Sonu Singh’s case had made it clear that chest and height measurement through scientific instruments was required to be carried out publicly. The stamped copy of dimensions was also required to be handed over to the candidates seeking recruitment. The Bench had added a man’s height was a “pure question of fact”, provided it was measured scientifically by a stadiometer used for measuring human height with reliable results.

Justice Monga added petitioners’ grievance regarding height measurement would be mitigated by the state

by carrying out one-time remeasurement in terms of Sonu Singh’s case.

All petitioners would be notified of the date, time and venue for remeasurement of height through email, text message and the department website. For remeasurement and resultant changes, Justice Monga also set a month’s deadline.

Before parting with the case, Justice Monga asserted dispensing with the interviews for the posts of constable was in tune with the guidelines issued by the Centre. “The policy decision of the state government dispensing with the interview is also upheld,” Justice Monga concluded.