Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 3: The High Court has upheld withdrawal of the provisional selection list regarding engagement of candidates as Rehbar-e-Khel (ReK) for zone Drugmulla in Kupwara district by the authorities.
The Court observed that mere selection does not entitle the candidate to claim appointment.
The advertisement was issued for filling up of 223 vacancies of Rehbar-e-Khel across 13 zones of Kupwara district in pursuance to an advertisement notice issued by the Youth Services and Sports Department on 13th January 2018. However the authorities withdrew the provisional selection list candidates as regards zone Drugmulla on 13 May 2019 amid complaints of nepotism and favoritism by a selection committee. The authorities had also ordered a fresh process for engagement against these positions.
The court was apprised that the candidates were close relatives of the officers and officials working the Youth Services and Sports Department Kupwara and this fact was not denied by the authorities before the Court as some of the selected candidates were awarded exceptionally high marks in the interview though they were figuring at the bottom of the list as per the points calculated on the basis of their academic qualification.
The withdrawal of the list had followed a petition filed by some of the non-selected candidates who had, besides levelling allegations of nepotism and favoritism, contended that selection was not done by a duly constituted Selection Committee.
“A look at the document (placed on record by officials) would reveal that all these 06 candidates, who are stated to be relatives of the officials of the Department, have secured very high marks as compared to the other selected candidates and the candidates who have been rejected,” Justice Sanjay Dhar said.
Apart from it, the court said, the record shows that the interview of the candidates pertaining to Drugmulla Zone was not conducted by a duly constituted Selection Committee.
“…the interview of the candidates has not been conducted by a duly constituted Selection Committee because it was not headed by the Deputy Commissioner,” the court said and rejected the contention by the counsel for the petitioners that Additional Deputy Commissioner Kupwara had the approval of the Deputy Commissioner to act on his behalf and that selection committee cannot be stated to be incompetent one.
The court also held that the petitioners do not have any vested right to seek a direction upon authorities concerned to take forward the selection process on the basis of provisional select list.
“In the instant case, even the selection of the petitioners was yet to be finalized as their selection was provisional in nature subject to the objections. Once the official respondents considered the objections, they withdrew the provisional select list. The same was well within their competence and jurisdiction particularly in view of the fact that the selection was made by an incompetent Selection Committee and there were a large number of misdemeanours observed in the selection process,” the court said and dismissed the plea.
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