Jharkhand High Court Upholds District-Level Recruitment for Chowkidars

Court Dismisses Petitions Challenging District-Level Merit List Over 'Beat Wise' Recruitment

In a significant judgment, the Jharkhand High Court has dismissed petitions challenging the recruitment process for the post of 'Chowkidar', which was conducted on a district-level basis rather than 'Beat Wise' as contended by the petitioners. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar ruled that the recruitment process aligned with the Jharkhand Chowkidar Cadre Rules, 2015, and the advertised guidelines, thereby rejecting the petitioners' claims of arbitrariness and discrimination.

The petitioners, including Pintu Kumar, had filed writ petitions seeking quashing of the provisional lists of shortlisted candidates prepared on a district-level basis. They argued that the recruitment process should have been conducted 'Beat Wise', as candidates were required to be permanent residents of their respective 'Beats'. The High Court, however, found that such an interpretation would lead to absurdity and contravene the established rules, which mandated district-level recruitment to ensure the reservation roster's application.

The court emphasized the purposive interpretation of the recruitment rules, supporting the district-level approach as essential for maintaining the reservation roster as per government directives. The judgment also clarified that achieving minimum qualifying marks in written examinations does not guarantee progression to the physical test unless the candidate meets the prescribed cut-off marks.

The court referred to precedents, including the Supreme Court judgments in Malik Mazhar Sultan v. U.P. Public Service Commission and Shailesh Dhairyawan v. Mohan Balkrishna Lulla, to reinforce the principle that recruitment must adhere to the rules, and errors in advertisement cannot override legal provisions.

While dismissing the petitions, the court concluded that the recruitment process was conducted in compliance with the statutory framework, and the petitioners failed to establish any discrimination or arbitrariness. The judgment reaffirms the district-level recruitment procedure as consistent with the legislative intent and administrative efficiency.

Bottom Line:

Recruitment process for the post of 'Chowkidar' - Candidates cannot claim the selection process to be conducted 'Beat Wise' when the applicable rules and advertisement specify 'District Wise' recruitment. Purposive interpretation of rules and advertisements must align with their intended purpose to avoid absurdity. 

Statutory provision(s): Jharkhand Chowkidar Cadre Rules, 2015

Pintu Kumar v. State of Jharkhand, (Jharkhand)(DB) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2786186