Administrative Tribunal pulls up Maharashtra Public Service Commission for ‘overly technical’ errors, orders appointment of architect candidate

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Pulling up the Maharashtra Public Service Commission for multiple errors in recruitment, the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Aurangabad, has directed it to recommend architect candidate Amol Bari for appointment after finding that the commission had wrongly calculated his experience and incorrectly categorised his candidature, denying him a post despite merit.

A division bench of Justice V K Jadhav and member (administrative) Vinay Kargaonkar held that the commission’s flawed approach resulted in an eligible candidate being denied appointment even after securing `second rank’ in the merit list.

The tribunal found that MPSC had incorrectly tagged Bari under an OBC (female) post instead of considering him for an OBC (general) vacancy, despite him applying under the latter category with a valid non-creamy layer certification. The commission further compounded the error by leaving the OBC (general) post vacant, citing a lack of eligible candidates.

Challenging the decision through advocate V B Wagh, Bari argued that the commission’s assessment was fundamentally flawed. “Despite applying under the OBC (general) category… Bari was not recommended for appointment,” Wagh submitted, pointing out the wrongful classification.

Another major lapse identified by the tribunal was the incorrect calculation of Bari’s professional experience. The MPSC concluded that he fell short of the required experience by 14 days, pegging his service at six years, six months and 17 days.

This calculation was based on the commission’s interpretation that an experience certificate did not specify the end date of employment. However, Bari contended that the certificate clearly stated March 13, 2010, as the last date, not March 1, 2010, as the commission assumed.

Accepting this contention, the tribunal held that the corrected calculation brought Bari’s total experience to six years, seven months and one day, making him eligible. It criticised the commission’s approach, noting, “The dispute concerned only 14 days of service and there was no allegation of fraud or misrepresentation.”

The bench also highlighted procedural lapses, observing that MPSC had accepted the same documents during scrutiny and allowed Bari to appear for the interview. “If any deficiency was noticed… the candidate should have been allowed to clarify,” the tribunal said.

Rejecting MPSC’s claim that no eligible OBC (general) candidate was available, the tribunal stated that Bari was clearly eligible and should have been considered.

Describing the commission’s approach as “overly technical,” the MAT quashed its decision to wrongly categorise Bari and leave the OBC (general) vacancy unfilled. It directed MPSC to revise the experience calculation and recommend his name within eight weeks, and instructed state govt to complete the appointment process within an additional eight weeks.

The tribunal clarified that its order would not impact the appointment already granted to Sweta Ahirrao under the OBC (female) category.