Error committed by recruiting agency in advertising vacancies will not bind deptt: DB

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 21: In a landmark judgment, Division Bench of State High Court comprising Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Sindhu Sharma has held that any error committed by recruiting agency in advertising the vacancies, which were not indented by the department concerned, will not bind the department.
While setting-aside the judgment of Single Judge, Division Bench after hearing AAG Aseem Sawhney, observed, “from the record it is established beyond doubt that as there was no requisition sent by the department to the Board for recruitment of driver against the vacancy in the Scheduled Caste Category, no recommendation as such could have been made”.
“The Board is merely a recruiting agency. Any error committed by it in advertising the vacancies, which were not indented by the department concerned will not bind the department, hence, even the contention that there was no corrigendum issued by the Board will not have any legs to stand”, the DB said, adding “if the requisition sent to the Board is compared with the advertisement issued, the same shows a totally different picture as if the Board was acting of its own”.
“In fact the conduct of the Board is further evident from the communication dated 13.09.2011 where the department had raised issue with the Board regarding making recommendation against the vacancies which were never requisitioned”, the DB said, adding “the requisition sent by the department was so specific, which not only mentioned total number of vacancies, rather the cadre, division, category and even the roster points had also been specified”.
“In the requisition sent there was no vacancy required to be filled up in the Scheduled Caste Category. Not only this the communications clearly establish that the same officer, whose letter is sought to be relied upon by the respondent for seeking a direction from the court for appointment, had been writing before and after that letter, seeking clarification from the Board. Accordingly, the recommendations made were beyond the requisition made by the department”.
With these observations, DB found merit in the appeal and accordingly impugned order passed by Single Judge was set aside.