Srinagar, Oct 14: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) here has refused to interfere with a show-cause notice issued against two Assistant Professors (APs) of Statistics, even as it directed the authorities to proceed with the selection process in accordance with the merit secured by two candidates who did not figure in the original select list due to an error by JKPSC.
A bench of Judicial Member, M S Latif and Administrative Member, Prasant Kumar declined to interfere with the government’s show-cause notice in response to Rayees Ahmad Dar and Rumana Gulzar Matoo’s plea, who were appointed as Assistant Professors in the Higher Education Department in 2017. The duo had called in question the show-cause notice issued by the department in August 2023 with the contention that the issue concerning their selection had already been settled by the Tribunal.
The dispute arose after the JKPSC acknowledged an inadvertent error in awarding weightage during the selection process. Two private respondents, Rashpal Singh and Javid Gani Dar, claimed that they were more meritorious and had been deprived of appointment because of the error. The record before the Tribunal showed that the two candidates (Rashpal and Javaid) were more meritorious than the applicants.
At the same time, the Tribunal noted that the applicants had been continuously serving as APs since 2017 and had not been found guilty of fraud or misrepresentation. It observed that their appointments were not the result of favouritism or nepotism and that the fault lay with the JKPSC.
The bench said it found no reason to interfere with the show-cause notice and directed the authorities to proceed with it in accordance with law. The applicants were granted seven days to submit their replies, if they had not already done so.
However, the Tribunal also held that a “special equity” operated in favour of the applicants as they had not obtained their appointments through fraud, misrepresentation or favouritism. It directed the appointing authority to proceed in accordance with law and merit, while allowing for creation of two supernumerary posts, if required, to adjust or appoint the original applicants. Inter-se seniority, it said, would be determined strictly according to merit in the selection process.
The entire exercise has been directed to be completed within two months from the date of service of the certified copy of the order.
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