Himachal Pradesh High Court quashes appointment of 2 judicial officers

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, September 21

The High Court has set aside the appointments of two judicial officers.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sandeep Sharma passed the order yesterday on a bunch of petitions challenging the selection process for the posts of Civil Judge (Jr Div). It was contended in the petitions that on February1, 2013, the HPPSC issued an advertisement inviting applications for filling eight vacancies of Civil Judge (Jr Div).

It was contended that the petitioners, after having cleared the preliminary exam were permitted to take the main examination held from July 15 to 18, 2013.

It was alleged in the petition that Vivek Kaisth and Akanksha Dogra were wrongly appointed. They were appointed against the vacancies which arose subsequent to an advertisement and these could not be filled from the existing select list and the waiting list.

However, it was contended on behalf of the Judicial Officers that since there was no fault on their part, as far as their selection was concerned, declaring their appointment as illegal, after around seven years of their selection, would not only be harsh, but also stigmatic for them and, as such, a lenient view was required to be taken.

The court observed, “An anomalous situation has arisen only on account of the non-application of mind on the part of the commission, which, on the receipt of the requisition for three more posts from the government, ought to have adopted a selection process as per its rules and ought not have straightway recommended the two persons for appointment to the posts, especially when it was in its knowledge that the posts had never been advertised and no selection process qua such posts had ever taken place”.