Supreme Court Issues Notice To HC On Petition Challenging Punjab & Haryana Superior Judicial Service Examination 2024

The Supreme Court today (July 19) agreed to consider the challenge to the selection and marking procedure adopted for the Punjab & Haryana Superior Judicial Service Examination 2023-24. 

The petitioner has challenged the entire selection and evaluation process adopted in the Mains (written) Exam for 2023-24. The petitioner has alleged arbitrary markings in the answers of the candidates. 

The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the Registrar General of the P&H High Court in the matter and scheduled the hearing for next Friday (July 26). 

Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for the petitioners submitted that out of 549 candidates (297 for Punjab and 252 for Haryana), only 10 were called for the interview and 5 were finally selected.  

"Cut off was 40% but see the marking! Just two or three examples will suffice. Where the answer is 100% correct and he should be given 100% marks, yet he is given 2/10, 3/15 and so on"  

"One of the candidates who has not qualified (in the Punjab & Haryana Judicial Services Exams), has topped the Delhi HigherJudicial Services. He has scored double the marks in Civil Law Exam I and Civil Law Exam II. Though that is a more difficult examination because the number of subjects covered are much more than the number of subjects covered in Punjab & Haryana. Despite that, he has been given almost half the marks (in Punjab & Haryana Exam)" 

It may noted that examinations were conducted to fill 21 vacancies in the cadres of the Punjab Superior Judicial Services and 25 vacancies in the cadre of Haryana Superior Judicial Services. Only 5 candidates have been selected against the 46 vacancies. 

Bhushan placed reliance on the decision of the Top Court in Malik Mazhar Sultan (3) v. UP Public Service Commission where the Court specified that a ratio of 1:3 of the available vacancies to the successful candidates has to be maintained. Applying the same ratio, the plea contends that for 46 vacancies a total of 138 candidates should have been called for the interview (63 for Punjab Judicial Services and 75 for Haryana Judicial Services). 

Additionally, it mentioned that no vacancy for reserved categories under Scheduled Caste, Backward Class A, EWS, PwD, or Ex-Servicemen has been filled in either of the states. 

"Accordingly, for 46 vacancies for which 138 candidates (3-times the number of total vacancies) ought to have been called for interview, merely 10 candidates were evaluated to be eligible under the Main Written Examination-2024. It is important to mention herein that no vacancy reserved for the Scheduled Castes, Backward Class A, Economically Weaker Section, Person with Disability Category, Ex Servicemen have been filled in both the States. It is also imperative to mention that merely two candidates from the said categories would qualify for viva-voce if awarded minimum five percent marks in Civil Law-I and Civil Law-II papers." 

The main reliefs sought by the petitioners are (1) direction to quash the results of the P&H Superior Judicial Services Main Written Exam 2024 and hold rerecruitments; (2) direction for re-evaluation of Civil Law Paper I and II of the Mains (Written) of the all the petitioners by an independent expert committee; (3) direction  to revise the results as per the recommendations made by Justice Sikri Committee in Pranav Verma v. High Cout of P&H

A. Issue a writ, order or direction to quash the result dated 02.05.2024 of the Punjab/ Haryana Superior Judicial Services Main Written Examination- 2024 for direct recruitment to the cadre of District Judge conducted by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana pursuant to advertisement dated 14.11.2023 and 15.11.2023;

B. Issue a writ, order or direction for re-evaluation of Civil Law Paper-I and Civil Law Paper II of Main (Written) Examination of all the Petitioners who appeared in the Main Examination by an independent expert committee;

C. Issue a writ, order or direction to revise the result of the said Main Examination in accordance with the recommendations made by the Justice Sikri committee in Pranav Verma v. High Court of P&H (2020 15 SCC 377) judgment by awarding bonus marks to the candidates qualified for the mains examination to the extent that three times of the vacancy notified candidates should be called for the interview as per judgment passed by this Hon'ble Court in Malik Mazhar Sultan (3) v. U.P. Public Service Commission, (2008) 17 SCC 703;

D. Pass any other order as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit.

The matter will now be heard on July 26. 

Case Details : HARJINDER KUMARI VS. REGISTRAR GENERAL OF THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA W.P.(C) No. 000452 / 2024