High Court halts issue of Group-1 appointment letters

Hyderabad: Justice N Rajeswara Rao of Telangana high court Thursday directed Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGSPSC) not to issue appointment letters to the selected candidates of Group-1 till adjudication of a batch of petitions alleging irregularities in the selection process.
The judge, however, allowed the officials to continue the ongoing verification of certificates of the successful candidates. The judge also directed PSC to furnish to the court the record of computer logs pertaining to the aspirants.
The judge made the interim order while hearing a batch of petitions filed by M Paramesh and 19 others and directed TGSPSC to file its counter by April 28, the next date of hearing. The PSC has made arrangements to recruit 563 persons as Group-1 officers and has completed both preliminary and main exams.
Of the five lakh aspirants who took the Prelims, 21,000 were selected for the Mains and, of this, 563 were finally selected for the jobs. Currently, their certificates were being verified by the authorities before handing them over selection letters.
The petitioners, in their pleas, expressed apprehensions about 71 persons getting selected from just two centres in the city. They also raised doubts about recounting methods, citing the example of a candidate who contended that she got 485 marks in the Mains, and when she applied for recounting, her marks were reduced to 422 after the recounting. They also raised doubts about making the Koti Women's College centre an exclusive exam centre for women, and also raised questions on why a ‘huge' number of candidates were selected from this centre.
Initially, the authorities declared that 21,075 persons had cleared the Prelims, but later that figure rose to 21,085, and there was no proper explanation as to where the extra 10 candidates came from, B Rachna Reddy, the counsel for the petitioners, said. The number of exam centres was also increased to 46 from the initially announced 45, she said, demanding computer logs pertaining to the entry of candidates.
TSGPSC counsel PS Rajasekhar contended the petitioners came to the court with baseless allegations. Of the 20 petitioners, 19 were govt employees who approached the court with an express objective to stall the ongoing recruitment process. There were no Group-1 selections in the last 10 years, and these insiders of the govt sector were trying to block the desperate unemployed youth, who have toiled to secure a govt job.
Refuting the allegations surrounding Koti Women's College centre, the TGSPSC's counsel said that 1,500 woman aspirants took the Mains exams there. Of these, 71 candidates were selected, which was less than 5%. The Supreme Court had in the Vanshika Yadav versus Union of India case clearly said the cancellation of the NEET UG 2024 exam was unwarranted when irregularities pertain to a small area. A separate penal process could be launched against the guilty in proven cases instead of punishing all the aspirants all over the country.
Applying the same analogy to the current case, Rajasekhar said this was a case where no irregularity was proved, and the candidates before the court were those govt servants who did not reveal their credentials, like where they are currently working, etc.
Coming down heavily on the allegations that they reduced marks in recounting of the paper of a candidate, Rajasekhar said the candidate, in that particular case, had played fraud on the system and the court. She had not secured 485 marks in the first place, but only 422 marks. But she forged the papers and was claiming that her 485 marks were reduced to 422, which was a brazen fraud. TGSPSC has already ordered a probe into the issue. She secured 422 marks in the exam and also in the recounting. "This theory about 485 marks is a fabricated one," he said.
Clarifying about adding an exam centre, the PSC counsel said that they made arrangements for persons with physical disabilities, who found it difficult to go up to the upper floor exam hall at one centre. The tally of biometrics and final figures might have resulted in the increase of 10 candidates and this need not be seen as a scam, he said, brushing aside allegations about these extra candidates. He also dismissed as far-fetched the apprehensions expressed on evaluators. "We have chosen the best evaluators," Rajasekhar said. "We have mentioned Prelims hall ticket number in the Mains hall ticket also," he said referring to allegations of separate hall tickets.