In a significant development affecting hundreds of government job aspirants, the Telangana High Court has provided temporary relief by putting on hold a previous order that had invalidated the provisional selection list for 1,032 government positions under the 2019 Group II recruitment drive.
Court Intervention in Recruitment Controversy
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin issued the interim stay on Thursday while hearing an appeal filed by candidates who had already been recruited through the contested selection process. The bench has scheduled the case for a detailed hearing on merits after six weeks, providing a temporary reprieve to the appointed candidates.
The controversy stems from the October 2019 provisional selection list issued by the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) for filling vacancies across 13 government departments. The selection process had been challenged previously, leading to the single judge's order that set aside the entire recruitment list.
Arguments Presented by Appointed Candidates
The appellants, which include some candidates currently serving as deputy tahsildars, presented several key arguments before the division bench. They contended that since they had already been appointed to their positions, it would be fundamentally unfair to invalidate their appointments at this stage.
Another crucial point raised by the appellants was that all 1,032 selected candidates should have been made parties to the original writ petition heard by the single judge. They argued that the failure to include all affected parties represented a procedural lapse in the earlier proceedings.
The recruited candidates also pointed out what they perceived as a contradiction in the single judge's order. They noted that while the TGPSC had already followed the technical committee's recommendations during the initial recruitment process, Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka's November 25 order had once again directed the commission to comply with the same recommendations and redo the entire selection process.
Background and Implications
The original order by Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka had directed the TGPSC to re-evaluate and finalize the selection process strictly in accordance with the high court's earlier directions. This would have effectively nullified the entire 2019 recruitment exercise and forced the commission to start the process anew.
The interim stay means that the currently appointed candidates can continue in their positions until the division bench hears the case on its merits after the six-week period. This development brings temporary stability to the employment status of hundreds of government employees who had been facing uncertainty about their jobs.
The case highlights the complex legal challenges that often surround large-scale government recruitment processes in India, particularly when multiple candidates compete for limited positions. The final outcome after six weeks will determine whether the TGPSC needs to restart the recruitment process or whether the existing appointments will be upheld.
