Plea To Postpone Haryana JS (Mains) Exam Due To Clash With MP Civil Judge (Pre) Exam : Supreme Court To Hear On May 4

The bench of Justices Vineet Saran and JK Maheshwari in their order said, "Counsel for the Petitioner states that Mr Ashok Mathur, standing counsel for HPSC will be served during the course of the day. Ms Monika Gosain, standing counsel for the State of Haryana has already been served. Information that the matter will be taken up on 4th May will be given to both sides."

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. 

Averments In The Plea

The plea states that due to the announcement issued by the HPSC, the petitioners are likely to be prejudiced and their right to participate in the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services will be infringed and an irreparable loss and injustice will be caused to the petitioners.

They have contended that when HPSC decided to change the dates from April 22, 2022-April 24, 2022 and to May 6, 2022-May 8, 2022, the dates of the MPHC's Civil Judge pre-examination was already in the public domain.

The plea also submits that the HPSC should have been more cautious while fixing the new dates and it was their duty to not choose a date that was already occupied by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

It has also been averred in the plea that this is the very last chance for some of the candidates to take the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services examination, but their whole preparations, hopes, and aspirations would be wasted as they will be indirectly debarred to sit in either of the exams.

The plea also submits that a plea filed regarding this very issue has already been dismissed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, the order of which, has not been uploaded yet.

Against this backdrop, the petitioners have sought the following relief from the Supreme Court:

- Direction to quash the notice dated 30.03.2022 issued by HPSC and directing the Respondents to postpone the mains exam of Haryana Civil Services (Judicial Branch);

- Direction to HPSC to postpone the Main Exam of Haryana Civil Services (Judicial Branch) from 06.05.2022 (the date of Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services Preliminary Exam) to any other date except 15.05.2022 (the preliminary exam date of Gujarat Judicial Services)

- Direction to the Respondents to fix a fresh date that doesn't clash with any other State's Judicial Services Exams.

The bench was also considering an application seeking intervention in the instant writ plea has been moved by one Raghav Gumber (who was the petitioner before the Punjab and Haryana High Court) and 40 others through AOR Namit Saxena. In this IA, it has been stated that the rights and interests of the applicants have been affected and a fair opportunity of participation is being snatched away from them, which is strictly against the law of the land.

Case Title: Nisha Kumari and Ors v. Haryana Public Service Commission and Anr| WP(C) 310/2022

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