The Delhi High Court has quashed its own administrative order to conduct a fresh "skill test" for those candiadtes who had failed in the recruitment process for the posts of Private Secretaries in courts.
Setting aside a decision taken by a committee, set up by the Chief Justice of the high court in January this year, the division bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and V K Rao said "a fresh selection process can be conducted to fill the posts."
The bench allowed a batch for pleas and said "the orders of January 8 and 9, 2013 are quashed. Needless to state, the respondent (high court) is restrained from permitting failed candidates to retake the skill test, and since the skill test has been retaken but result thereof has not been declared, the respondent is restrained from declaring the result."
"It would be open for the respondent to conduct a fresh selection process for the unfilled posts and such further posts as have fallen due," the court also said.
Skill test is the test in which a candidate has to take dictation in shorthand and then transcribe that in English on the computer.
The bench also said no rule is shown to it which allowed the high court to hold such a fresh test for failed candidates.
"It is impermissible to permit failed candidates to retake a test in which they had failed. A merit-based selection process cannot be bifurcated into two parts with two merit lists of successful candidates prepared unless a power exists to do so and that too with the principle/norm of equalisation/standardisation in place....," the court said.
