The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) to ensure transparency in its selection process, and redo the 2007 selection list of lecturers appointed to government first grade colleges by providing them service weightage.
“The weightage marks give undue advantage to a person getting it. It amounts to arbitrary action on the part of the KPSC. It is in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. It is a denial of equal opportunity to those other guest lecturers who perhaps could have applied and competed for selection.
Redo the list in Sociology, Political Science, Economics and History and also in English,” the Division Bench comprising Justices D V Shylendra Kumar and B S Indrakala said during the hearing of an appeal against the order of Karnataka Administrative Tribunal.
Some of the candidates who were not selected in the recruitment process had approached the KAT challenging the weightage given to guest lecturers. Some more candidates had also questioned the selection of candidates with MPhil obtained from universities such as Alagappa University, Bharathidasan University, Madurai Kamaraj University, Vinayaka Mission, Annamalai and Periyar Universities claiming that these varsities were not approved by the Distant Education Council and hence the degrees awarded by them were not valid.
The KAT, allowed the petition challenging weightage, but refused to interfere in the matter of MPhil candidates.
Refuses to interfere
The Division Bench, however, said the court cannot embark on or declare the legality of degrees, “ but can issue directions to university or an authority to take action as per law, if found that a varsity is not conforming to mandatory stipulations of law, particularly under the UGC Act or any act binding the varsity.”
Stating that it does not want to interfere in the matter, the Court observed: “We do find the candidates holding MPhil degree have got an advantage over others who do not have, in the sense such applicants get an exemption from appearing for National Eligibility Test (NET). The matter requires re-examination both at the level of the State government and the UGC.”
The Bench also said the KPSC should streamline its functioning and treat all the applicants alike.
The KPSC in 2007 had invited applications to fill 2,550 posts of lecturers in government first grade colleges. While 50 per cent of the posts were to be filled through direct recruitment, the remaining vacancies were to be filled through promotions.