Plea In Punjab & Haryana HC Seeks Postponement Of Haryana JS (Mains) Exam-2021 On Ground Of Clash With MP Civil Judge (Pre) Exam Date

A Writ petition has been moved before the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking postponement of Mains Examination of Haryana Civil Service (Judicial Branch)- 2021 in view of its clash with the date announced for conducting the Preliminary Exam of Madhya Pradesh Civil Judge, Junior Division (Entry Level) Exam-2021.

The Mains Examination of HCS (Judicial Branch)- 2021 is scheduled to be held from May 6, 2022-May 8, 2022, which coincides with the date of the Preliminary Exam of Civil Judge, Junior Division (Entry Level) Exam-2021 scheduled to be held on May 6, 2022

In all, 63 petitioners who have qualified Preliminary exam of HCS (Judicial Branch) Pre Exam 2021 have moved the High Court seeking postponement and rescheduling of the Mains Examination in a manner so as to ensure that the same does not coincide/clash with the MP CJ's Preliminary Exam-2021 being conducted by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

A bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi is set to hear the writ plea today.

The background in brief 

The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) notified the vacancies for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Haryana Civil Service (Judicial Branch) on January 13, 2021. The Petitioners participated in the examination and qualified for the Main Examination.

Initially, HPSC, vide announcement dated March 4, 2022, announced that the Main Examination of Haryana Civil Service (Judicial Branch) would be tentatively held from April 15, 2022, to April 17, 2022. The dates were changed to April 22, 2022, to April 24, 2022, and finally to, May 6, 2022-May 8, 2022.

It may be noted that the dates for the Main Examination were changed from April 22, 2022-April 24, 2022 and to May 6, 2022-May 8, 2022 so as to avoid any clash with the Delhi Judicial Service (DJS) Preliminary Examination, scheduled to be held on April 24, 2022.

Averments in the plea

It is the categorical submission of the petitioners that despite the Notification of the MP High Court, being in the public domain, the HPSC, issued the announcement of re-scheduling the Main Examination from May 06, 2022, to May 08, 2022, leading to the dates coinciding with the Preliminary Exam of Madhya Pradesh Civil Judge, Junior Division (Entry Level) Exam – 2021.

The plea states that aggrieved by the re-scheduling of the Main Examination, the candidates had submitted their grievance to HPSC, however, no response was received by the candidates from the Commission's end and thus, the petitioners were compelled to move to the High Court.

The plea also states that since the dates of HCS (Judicial Exam) Main 2021 are coinciding with the already scheduled by the Madhya Pradesh CJ Pre Exam, the same is becoming an impediment in the Petitioners' right to opportunity and the same denies the Petitioners a fair chance to participate in public service examinations.

It is the specific submission of the Candidates that the HPSC's decision to conduct the exam from May 6 to May 10, will compel the Petitioners and other similarly situated students to choose any one examination and miss another, by default.

"The respondents were bound to conduct the mains examination on either scheduled date or any other date which would not clash with any other similar judicial service examination. Respondents were duty-bound to carefully schedule the HJS mains examination again to avoid any other clash with similar judicial service examination, when the exercise of postponement of the examination was undertaken to ensure that there would be no clashing of dates with the DJS Preliminary examination. The act of respondents is arbitrary and capricious because it treated the DJS examination as a special class for which respondents postponed its own examination to accommodate those students/aspirants who are taking the DJS examination, but at the same time it is discriminating with those students/aspirants who are taking Madhya Pradesh Civil Judge examination by capriciously conducting it on the same dates as that of the MPCJ examination i.e. 06.05.20222," the plea submits.

The petitioners have also contended that the examinations are taking place after more than two years due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and during this period,  the petitioners had no opportunity to seek public employment in any of the northern states and now, when the exams are happening, the petitioners are indirectly forced to choose and appear for any one examination [either Mains exam of HCS (Judicial Branch) or MP CJ Pre exam].

In this regard, the Petitioners have also submitted in their plea that many candidates, including a few among the petitioners, are on the verge of being over-age for the purpose of qualification/eligibility for these examinations and therefore, the plea adds, the loss of opportunity to petitioners of either of the examinations under question cannot be afforded by them at this crucial point in time

"Career of petitioners were practically stagnated for the past two hard & trying years. Now, due to the clashing of the HCS (Judicial Branch) Mains examination with the MPCJ examination, a sense of doom has again hung over the career of the petitioners. The rule of prudence demands that when the unemployment rate in India is rising sharply the state must provide more and more opportunities to the youth of this country for the public employment but in the case of present petitioners, state has chosen to obstruct the opportunity of the petitioners by scheduling the HJS mains examination in a manner only to clash/coincide with MPCJ examination," the plea contends.

Advocates Vikram Bali, Tejaswini, Priya Deep, Srivats Kaushal & Humraz Bir Singh will be appearing for the petitioners. The plea is likely to come up for a hearing today.