Asks Govt to go ahead with process, bars it from finalizing till further orders
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir High Court and Ladakh issued notice to government and sought records regarding selection process for the post of Principal, SKIMS Medical College, Bemina Srinagar.
The directions were passed by a bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey on a petition filed by Prof. Abdul Wahid Khan & Another.
The petitioners claim to have applied for the post of Principal, SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, as put to advertisement in terms of Advertisement notice (No. 01 of 2021 dated 7th of January, 2021.”
The petitioners submitted that the selection process for the post is being carried in violation of the recruitment rules governing the subject as well as against the mandate of Clauses (b) and (c) prescribed in the Advertisement Notice.
They submitted that the selection Committee has not assessed the credentials of all the competing candidates on the basis of criteria and that, without such assessment, all the nine (09) competing candidates were called for interview instead of restricting the number of candidates to the ratio of 1:5. They also submitted that the selection Committee was supposed to prepare the panel of three (03) candidates on the basis of merit to be assessed by it and, thereafter, place the same before the Chairman, Governing Body, SKIMS, in the order of merit for making selection against the post of Principal. Instead of doing so, the petitioners said that they have prepared the panel, thereby resulting in violation of the mandate of recruitment rules as well as terms and conditions of the Advertisement Notice.
“Although, the Court is conscious about the fact that it has limited scope in interfering with an ongoing selection process which has not yet culminated, but, in view of the contentions raised by the Petitioners qua violation of mandate of recruitment rules as well as terms and conditions of the Advertisement Notice on part of the Respondents, it has become necessary to call for the records of the selection for perusal and examination of the Court,” the court said and issued notice to the government, returnable on or before the next date of hearing on August 23.
Meanwhile, the court directed the government to submit the relevant selection records before it on the next date of hearing. “It is further provided that the selection process in question may go ahead, but shall not be finalized until further orders from the Court,” the court added. (GNS)
