Govt Job Is A Dream, Oversight Due To Anxiety Should Not Haunt: P&H HC Grants Relief To Candidates Disqualified For Not Filling Booklet Series In OMR

The Punjab & Haryana High Court allowed plea of candidates challenging their disqualification in Haryana Public Service Commission due to not filing booklet series in the OMR sheet, observing that "securing a public employment is a dream for a common person and the failure to compete in the same solely due to certain inadvertent omissions would crush the entire career prospects of a candidate, more so, it is only occasionally that Justice Vinod Bhardwaj said, "Rejecting a candidature of a person is the extreme consequence of an omission and while being a guardian of fairness of the selection process, the Court is also expected to balance the aspirations of the competing candidates considering that public employment is a scarce opportunity which is available occasionally. After hearing the submissions, the Court noted that it has been set out in the instructions issued to the candidates that they have to be carefully read and followed by the respective candidates and it also prescribes that in the event of any omission or discrepancy in filling up the roll number, question booklet series and question booklet number, the same would render the OMR sheet liable for rejection. Considering that the counsel for the HPSC does not express any apprehension of any foul play or tampering of the final result or any possibility of vitiating the selection process or creating doubts with respect to the sanctity of the selection process, the Court opined that "such a trivial omission is required to be resorted to its extreme only in befitting circumstances, where the omission would have a semblance of vitiating the selection process or creating reasonable doubts and apprehensions in the minds of the general public that the final outcome of the selection process is likely to be severely compromised." In light of the above, the Court directed the petitioners to appear in the office of the Secretary, Haryana Public Service Commission, whereupon the HPSC shall carry out the evaluation of the OMR sheets for screening.