IMPHAL, December 24: The single bench of High Court of Manipur has ordered the appointment a person against any existing vacant post of Sub-Inspector of Police or by replacing the last candidate who had secured less mark in the recruitment examination of 2006-07 conducted by the Home Department of Manipur Government.
The order was passed on December 17, 2013 by Justice N Kotiswar Singh in favour of the petitioner Devdas who filed the case against the home department, Principal Secretary Home and joint secretary home and DPG of Manipur. The court order said that it is to be clarified that the aforesaid exercise will be undertaken by the authorities within a period of two months from date of order issued.
Advocate of the petitioner, Kh Mani said at the chamber of the All Manipur Bar Association Manipur, Cheirap Court today that the government (Home Department) had exercised malpractice, corruption, mark manipulation in the recruitment examination in the selection of Sub-Inspector of 2006-07 batch.
The court has found that the state government has notified an order for advertisement of recruiting 41 SI cadres and other posts in the Home Department in 2006 from the then DGP. Ningthoujam Devdas, son of Ibochouba of Keirenbikhok under Moirang Police Station was applied for recruitment but was declared as unsuccessful.
The examination was conducted in four different subject, one was physical efficiency test carrying 20 marks, GK and English carrying 30-30 marks each and viva voice carrying 20 marks.
The resulted of the recruitment was declared on February 26, 2007. Devdas got 48 marks in the examination and the last person selected got 49 ½ marks.
After two years, he got an RTI reply from the Home Department and decided to file a case at the Manipur High court.
Cross checking of answer papers with the key answers of the exam found that the examiner or home department official had mistakenly or intentionally marked as wrong some of Devdas’ correct answers and there were some irregular markings.
Kh Mani reported that the court is exercise of writ jurisdiction under the Article 226 of the Constitution of India would not embrace upon the exercise of verified the correctness of answer in the competitive examination conducted by the experts yet , such mistakes are too eliminatory and basic and apparent which do not required any extensive and elaborate scrutiny requiring expert knowledge and detail investigation, the hand of the court may not be tied and could proceed to undertake the said exercise itself as being done in the present case.
After re-evaluation of the answer paper of the petitioner he secured more marks than many of the successful candidates who have been appointed as SI in Home Department.
The court is of the view that if the Devdas has been wrongly deprived of marks which he had rightfully deserved, it was not his fault and he cannot be penalised for the same, and it would be for the authorities to take necessary steps to ensure that the petitioner is given his due and given appointment, if he is found more meritorious than any of the appointed candidate on the base of the exercise so undertaken. In such event the state authorities either to appoint the petitioner against any existing vacant post of SI of Police or by replacing the last candidate who had secured less mark than petitioner in the recruitment. And the present petitioner stands allowed to the extent indicated above and it is clarified that the aforesaid exercise will be undertaken by the authorities within a period of two months from December 17, 2013.
Kh Mani said that the court has found that the Manipur government has conducted malpractice in the government recruitment.