Jharkhand High Court
Dr. Priyank Kunal vs The State Of Jharkhand on 4 January, 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
(Letters Patent Appellate Jurisdiction)
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L.P.A. No. 625 of 2022
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Dr. Priyank Kunal, son of Shri Dilip Kumar Keshri, resident of Mohalla- Tin
Bazar Chowk, Dumka, P.O. & P.S.- Dumka, District-Dumka
... ... Appellant
Versus
1.The State of Jharkhand, through the Secretary/ Principal Secretary, Health,
Medical Education and Family Welfare Department, having office at Nepal
House, Doranda, P.O. & P.S.-Doranda, Town and District- Ranchi.
2. Jharkhand Public Service Commission through its Chairman, having office
at Circular Road, P.O. & P.S.- Lalpur, Town and District-Ranchi
3. Controller of Examination, Jharkhand Public Service Commission, having
office at Circular Road, P.O. & P.S.- Lalpur, Town and District- Ranchi
... ... Respondents
PRESENT
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RATNAKER BHENGRA
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For the Appellant : Mr. Manoj Tandon, Advocate
For the Respondent-JPSC : Mr. Sanjay Piprawall, Advocate
: Mr. Prince Kumar, Advocate
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JUDGMENT
4th January 2023
Per, Shree Chandrashekhar,J.
The appellant has challenged the order dated 23rd November
2022 passed in WP(S) No. 5658 of 2022.
2. The aforesaid writ petition was filed for a direction upon the
Jharkhand Public Service Commission (in short, "JPSC") to permit the
appellant to participate in the selection process for appointment on the post of
Medical Officer ( Basic Grade) by interfering with the communication dated
8th November 2022.
3. Advertisement No. 7 of 2021 was issued by the JPSC inviting
applications for appointment on the post of Medical Officer ( Basic Grade)
for which the basic qualification was MBBS from a medical college
recognized by the Medical Council of India and the State Government, with
one year internship experience from a recognized medical college/hospital.
The appellant has pleaded that he submitted his application within time and
sent copies of the requisite documents by post on 15 th February 2022 and the
same was received in the office of JPSC on 21st February 2022 at 18:15
hours.
4. However, the application of the appellant was rejected and a
communication in this regard was published on the website on 8 th November
2022.
5. The JPSC has taken stand before the writ Court that the last date
for submission of the documents was 18 th February 2022 by 5:00 PM and
there is no provision for relaxation so as to accept the application or the
documents beyond the cut-off date notified through press communique.
6. The writ Court did not accept the submission raised on behalf of
the appellant that on account of delay by the postal department he could not
have been penalized rather the JPSC should have accepted the documents
submitted by him which were received in its office on 21st February 2022.
7. The writ Court has held as under :
"11. There was a delay on the part of postal department for which
the JPSC cannot be directed to accept the hard copy of the
petitioner beyond the last date of submission. Since there was no
latches on the part of the JPSC, JPSC cannot be directed to accept
the candidature of the petitioner when admittedly the hard copy
reached beyond the last date. Further directing the JPSC to accept
the form of the petitioner would mean doing injustice to all the
similarly situated candidates whose applications has been rejected
by JPSC on the same ground. The coordinate bench of this Court
in WP(C) No. 6193 of 2018 more or less is similar case held that
no direction can be given to the JPSC when the latches is on the
part of the postal department."
8. Mr. Manoj Tandon, the learned counsel for the appellant has
raised two fold contentions, that (i) about nine months after the documents
were submitted by the appellant the JPSC communicated its decision to
reject his candidature which cannot be countenanced in law, and (ii) the
reliance placed by the writ Court on the judgment in WP(C) No. 6193 of
2018 is completely misplaced inasmuch as the facts in both cases are entirely
different.
9. In the matters of appointment by inviting applications, the
timeline is required to be adhered to by the examining body. This is in the
public interest that the examining body follows its own rules and regulations
so as to avoid any arbitrariness which may crept into the system. On a glance
at Advertisement No. 7 of 2021, it does not appear that the applicants were
required to submit hard copy of the documents by post only and while so it
was always and necessarily required of a candidate to ensure that the
documents are submitted in the office of the JPSC by 5:00 PM on
18th February 2022.
10. Admittedly the documents sent by the applicant through post has
reached the office of the JPSC at 18:15 PM on 21 st February 2022. As
regards reliance placed by the writ Court on the judgment in WP(C) No. 6193
of 2018, all that we intend to indicate is that since we agree with the final
decision of the writ Court such minor aberration shall not change the final
outcome.
11. In view of the aforesaid, LPA No. 625 of 2022 is dismissed.
(Shree Chandrashekhar, J.)
(Ratnaker Bhengra, J.)
Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi
Dated:4th January 2023
Sharda/Nibha-NAFR
