Hamirpur: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the Staff Selection Commission, Hamirpur on the dual and confrontational attitude of the Commission towards a candidate.
This is the first time that such a huge cost has been imposed on the negligence of a government institution.
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel in his judgement released recently has ordered the commission to deposit the cost amount in the court by August 22. To whom this amount will be given, a decision will be taken later.
The learned Judge said the Commission had adopted a confrontationist attitude not only with the petitioner but also with the court. “It's really painful. Those who approach the court against the Commission are mainly from the weaker sections of the society. Getting a government job is their dream. However, if their dreams are crushed by a callous attitude, only God can save the recruiting agencies”.
Slamming the Commission, Justice Goel said earlier the Commission had refused to get the certificate. When it was proved in the court that the petitioner had submitted the new certificate in time, a dual and confrontationist attitude was adopted on the part of the Commission.
Importantly, one mark was not given for the job of pharmacist; the petitioner Kulwinder Singh had applied for the pharmacist position in the Department of Ayurveda.
The Commission did not give him a single point by finding fault in the landless certificate. The evaluation of the petitioner's marks was fixed on September 23, 2017. The landless certificate submitted on behalf of the petitioner was countersigned by Tehsildar Amb.
As per the notification, the tehsildar can issue the landless certificate only. The Commission had given seven days’ time to the petitioner to submit the fresh certificate. The Commission had denied one mark to the petitioner for not submitting the new certificate on time. However, the court found in the case that the petitioner had submitted the certificate on time. (UNI)