Job seekers being driven to unnecessary litigation: Punjab and Haryana HC

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, February 10

Young and unemployed job aspirants are being driven to unnecessary litigation even before earning their first salary, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asserted while seeking personal presence of Haryana Chief Secretary and Haryana Staff Selection Commission Chairman.

Three cases in court’s knowledge

Justice Monga asserted three cases of different departments had come to the court’s knowledge where the candidates applied for jobs in the reserved category, but secured more marks than the last selected candidate in the general/open category. Yet, they were neither given the benefit of selection in the general, nor the reserved category.

The direction came after the High Court took note of the fact that candidates higher on merit were not being considered in the general category, though they had initially applied for jobs in the reserved category.

The High Court asserted the young and unemployed job aspirants could ill-afford to bear the cost of such needless litigation. Justice Arun Monga also asked the Chief Secretary, the Commission Chairman and Secretary to the Government, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department, to explain why officials concerned were not being sensitised and made aware that any candidate obtaining more marks than the last candidate in the general/open category was to be mandatorily considered in the general category, regardless of opting for the reserved category in the application. They were further asked to explain why costs should not be imposed on the officers responsible, to be paid/ recovered from their salaries.

Taking up petitions filed against the state of Haryana and other respondents by Ronak Dahiya and other petitioners, Justice Monga asked them to “personally join” the court proceedings through videoconferencing on the next date of hearing, after adding that the court was constrained to seek their personal presence.

Justice Monga asserted three cases of different departments had come to the court’s knowledge since morning where the candidates applied for jobs in the reserved category, but secured more marks than the last selected candidate in the general/open category. Yet, they were neither given the benefit of selection in the general, nor the reserved category.

Justice Monga observed the ostensible defence was that they were not eligible for the reserved category. But their candidatures were not even considered in the general/ open category even though they had concededly obtained more marks than the last selected candidate in the general/open category.

Before parting with the case, Justice Monga added the possibility of such cases could not be ruled out in the matter of selection in the other departments of the state as well.

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