ASHOK KUMAR YADAV AND ORS. ETC. ETC. versus STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS. ETC. ETC.

Citation: [1985] SUPP. 1 S.C.R. 657 · Decided: 10-05-1985 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: Y.V. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

ASHOK KUMAR Y ADAV AND ORS. ETC. ETC. 
v. 
STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS. ETC. ETC. 
May 10, 1985 
[Y.V. CHANDRACHUD, C.J., P.N. BHAGWATI, 
AMARENDRA NATH SEN AND V. BALAKRISHNA faADJ, Jl.] 
657 
Constitution of India, 1950, Article 316 and 226-Public Service Commission 
-Chairman and Members-Whether possess qualification and men of integrity 
and t!Dlibre-Whether High Court has power to inquire in such question-
Condemnatory observations by High Court-No factual basis on pleadings or 
evidence-Propriety and validity of. 
Administrative Law-
Natural Justice-Condemnatory observations made by High Court against 
Chairman and Members of Public Service Commission without their being party 
A 
B 
c 
respondents-Whether justified. 
D 
Recruitment to posts in Haryara Civil Service (Executive) & Allied Services 
-Selection by Public Service Cornmission-Some interviewed candidates closely 
related to Members-Selections-Whether vitiated. 
Viva vace examination-20 candidates called for each post-Whether 
justified-Allocation of 33.3% marks in case of ex-service officers and 22.2~~ in 
case of other candidates-Whether the viva voce exaniination suffers from the 
vice of arbitrariness-Guidelines for fixing marks for viva voce examination-
Jndicated. 
Rule 9 clause (1) of the Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch), Rules 
1930 prescribes a competitive examination for recruitment to posts in Haryana 
Civil Service (Executive) and other allied services. Regulation (I) in Appendix 
(l) lays down that the competitive examination shall include compulsorily and 
optional subjects and that every candidate shall take the compulsory subjects 
and not more than three of the optional subjects, and that ex-servicemen shall 
not be required to appear in the optional subjects. As per Regulation 5, the 
compulsory subjects carry in the aggregate 400 marks and there is also viva-voce 
examination which is compulsory and which carries 200 marks and each 
optional subject carries 100 lnarks. Thus, the written examination carries an 
aggregate of 700 marks for candidates in general and for ex-servicemen it 
carries an aggregate of 400 marks while in case of both, the viva voce exami-
nation carries 200 marks. Regulation 3 provides that no candidate shall be 
eligible to appear in the \iva voce test unless he obtains 45 per cent marks in 
the aggregate of all subjects. 
In a written examination held by the Haryana Public Service Commission 
for recruitment to 61 posts in Haryana Civil Service (Executive) and other allied 
Services, over 1300 candidates obtained more than 45% marks and thus qualified 
B 
F 
G 
B 
A 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
658 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1985] SUPPL. s.c.lt. 
for being caUcd for interview for the viva voce examination. The Haryana 
Public Service Comn1ission invited all the candidates for the viva voce exami-
nation and the interviews lasted for almost half a year. The number of 
vacancies also rose during the time taken up in the v.ritten examination and the 
viva voce test and ultimately J 19 posts became available for being filled and 
on the basis of total marks obtained in the written examination as well as 
viva-voce test, 119 candidates were selected and recommended by the Haryana 
Public Service Commission to the State Government. 
The respondents-petitioners had obtained very high marks at the writtta 
examination but owing to rather poor n1arks obtained in the viva voce test, 
they could not come within the first l 19 candidates and were consequently not 
selected. They filed several writ petitions in the High Court of Punj~b and 
Haryana cha1Jengiag the validity of the selection of the appellants and seeking 
a writ for quashing and setting asicfe the same. The State of Haryana, Haryana 
Public Service Commission, three members of the Haryana Public Service 
Commission and five selected candidates were respondents to the Writ Petitions. 
The respondents-petitioners contended berore the High Court : (1) that the 
Chairman and members of the Haryana Public Service Commission were not 
men of high integrity, calibre and qualification and they were appointed solely 
as a matter of political patronage and hence the selections made by them were 
invalid; (2) that three of the selected candidates were related to two men1bers 
of the Commission namely, 5hri R.C. Marya and Shri Raghubar Dayal Gaur 
and though these two members did not participate in the interview of their 
respective relatives, they did participate in the int
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