Jharkhand High Court: In a Letters Patent Appeal (‘LPA’) filed by Jharkhand Public Service Commission (‘JPSC’) against the order of a single judge holding the respondent, a Scheduled Tribe (‘ST’) candidate, entitled to an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Nagpuri language, the Division Bench of M. S. Ramachandra Rao, C.J.*, and Rajesh Shankar, J., noting the backwardness and myriad issues faced by the community and that it would be a travesty of justice to not appoint a deserving candidate like the respondent due to a fee glitch which was only discovered later, dismissed the LPA and directed the JPSC to pay the respondent Rs 1 lakh as costs.
Background
The JPSC advertised for the Assistant Professor position for Nagpuri language. The respondent, a candidate from the ST community, applied, paying Rs 150 as the application fee.
Despite scoring an impressive 72.10 out of 85 in the written examination, his name was inexplicably missing from the JPSC’s list of candidates called for interviews. It was later discovered that his application fees had not been credited to the JPSC’s account, leading to his exclusion from the interview stage.
Aggrieved, the candidate filed a writ petition. The Single Judge Bench of the Court subsequently directed the JPSC to allow him to appear for an interview, which he did, scoring 9.50 out of 15 marks. This brought his total score to 75.60 out of 100, placing him 1st in the ST category. The Court then ruled that he was entitled to an appointment to the post.
Aggrieved, the JPSC challenged this decision in the present appeal.
Court’s Analysis over denial of employment to Schedule Tribe candidate over fee glitch
The Court highlighted the numerous challenges, disabilities, disadvantages, indignities, and sufferings, faced by individuals from the ST category. The Court noted their eligibility for reservations in both institutional admissions and appointments within the State Government and its instrumentalities, as provided under Article 15(4) and Article 16(4) of the Constitution.
The Court further noted that in addition to historical and geographical isolation, members of the ST community experience significant socio-economic and educational backwardness. Their distinct language/dialect and culture were also recognized by the Court as valid reasons for the constitutional provision of reservations.
The Court emphasized that, given the profound backwardness and disadvantages faced by this community, denying employment to the respondent who achieved Rank 1 in the ST category would be a travesty of justice. This denial, based solely on the failure of application fee not being credited to the JPSC, which was only discovered at the interview stage after the candidate was allowed to take the written examination, was unacceptable. The Court noted that the constitutional objective of providing reservations, especially to a deserving candidate, cannot be undermined on the basis of such grounds.
The Court thus dismissed the L.P.A. and ordered the JPSC to pay the respondent Rupees One Lakh as costs.
[Jharkhand Public Service Commission v. Manoj Kachhap, L.P.A. No. 359 of 2024, decided on 11-06-2025]
*Judgment by Justice, M. S. Ramachandra Rao, Chief Justice, Jharkhand HC
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the petitioner: Sanjay Piprawall, Prince Kumar, Advocates.
For the respondent: Sabyasanchi, Advocate; Rajiv Ranjan, A.G., Piyush Chitresh, A.C. to A.G.
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