PSP Certificate row: Tribunal orders reserving of post

Srinagar, Dec 18: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Jammu has restrained the J&K Public Service Commission (PSC) from recommending the name of a candidate next in the order of merit under the Pahari Speaking People (PSP) category for appointment in J&K Civil Services under notification No 08-PSC (DR-P) of 2022 dated April 19, 2022.

A bench of Rajinder Singh Dogra, Member (J), further directed the PSC to keep one post reserved under the PSP category till January 30, 2024, the next date of hearing.

The directions followed the contention of a candidate, Varsha Choudhary who approached the tribunal with a plea that she participated in the J&K Combined Competitive Examination, 2022, as a PSP candidate, qualified the preliminary and mains examination, and was called for interview on August 17, 2023.

She is aggrieved by the notification No PSC/Exam/2023/S/37 dated August 22, 2023, to the extent her result was withheld by the PSC on the ground that her PSP category certificate issued on May 31, 2022, is dated later than May 26, 2022 – the cutoff date - whereas, the actual cutoff date, she said, was June 7, 2022, as extended by the commission.

However, the counsel for the PSC as well as the government submitted that there was no illegality in the action of the respondents (authorities) as the cutoff date was only extended till May 26, 2022, and, as per rules, any reservation and relaxation certificate should be dated earlier than the closing date.

Sudesh Magotra, AAG, Advocate F A Natnoo and Hunar Gupta, DAG accepted notice on behalf of the respondents (authorities).

“From the perusal of the record, it transpires that in the initial advertisement notification dated April 19, 2022, the cut-off date was given as May 15, 2022. Thereafter, vide notice dated May 12, 2022, the last date for filing online applications was extended and the cutoff date was modified to May 26, 2022. Thereafter, again vide order dated June 1, 2022, the date for filing up application was extended to June 7, 2022, however, no mention was made regarding extending the cut off date,” the court said, after hearing counsel for the parties and perusing the records.

The court also observed: “A perusal of Clause 11 of Jammu and Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination Rules, 2018, reveals that the certificate in respect of reservation and relaxation benefits should be dated earlier than the due date (closing date) of the application of Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination.”

It said that in this case vide notification dated June 1, 2022, the date for applying was extended to June 7, 2022 - the closing date.

“If the order dated June 1, 2022, extending the date for applying upto June 7, 2022, and Clause 11 of Jammu and Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination Rules, 2018, are read in tandem about this case, it will imply that the last date for filing application was June 7, 2023, and all the reservation and relaxation benefits certificates should be dated earlier than June 7, 2022,” the court said.

The court underscored that the applicant’s PSP category certificate was dated May 31, 2022, which, it said, was within the cutoff date.

“Given the discussion, prima facie, I am of the view that the action of the respondents of withholding the applicant’s result on the ground that her PSP category certificate is dated later than the cutoff date is arbitrary and, in case, the applicant is not protected by this tribunal, it will cause her irreparable loss,” the court said.