Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Court not a ‘super selecting authority’: High Court Bench

Staff Reporter

Dismisses petitions on SI recruitment

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Thursday, dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by 11 unsuccessful candidates in the physical efficiency test conducted for selecting sub-inspectors of police.

Though the petitioners sought a direction to re-conduct the test, Justice K. Chandru held that such an order would amount to the court becoming a “super selecting authority,” overlooking the selection done by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Board.

“Powers of the court in ordering second opportunities to the petitioners to once again go through the test is very limited and can never be exercised except in the rarest of rare cases,” the Judge said. He relied upon the Supreme Court judgement in Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education vs. Paritosh Bhupeshkumar Sheth (1984).

On the petitioners’ contention that the marksmen who recorded the physical efficiency test results did not discharge their duties properly, the Judge said that the court could not accept such a bald allegation unsupported by any materials. The test includes rope climbing, long jump and running.

Mr. Justice Chandru further said that he did not find any indiscretion in asking the candidates to undergo physical measurement test, physical efficiency test and so on before permitting them to sit for the written test for police service. “When there are overwhelming applicants, short-listing has to be done on a rational basis and considering the fitness of the candidates is most relevant, there was nothing wrong in the first respondent prescribing a series of elimination process.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Courses in yoga, Gandhian thought
Toppers honoured
District-level welfare board for domestic workers on the anvil
Campus recruitment
Recruitment drive on July 16 and 17
Talent search test to be held on July 22
Disruption in service
Stalin takes stock of development works
Water level
Murder case transferred
Court not a ‘super selecting authority’: High Court Bench

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu