New Delhi, May 6 (IANS ) The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by unsuccessful candidates from Bihar seeking direction to set aside the final result of the District Judges examination, 2015 on the ground that the interview process was vitiated.
Pronouncing its verdict, a bench, headed by Justice Hrishikesh Roy found the selection process to be legally valid and held that the requirement to obtain minimum qualifying marks in the interview is permissible and certainly not manifestly arbitrary, irrational or violative of Article 14.
The bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, in February this year, had reserved its judgment on pleas challenging the selection of only nine candidates in the interview against a total of 99 vacancies.
The petitioners said that a total of 69 candidates were called for the interview post-written examination, and in viva voce, 60 candidates, who had performed fairly well in the written test, were given below 10 marks, out of 50, and as a result, they were declared unsuccessful.
Calling for immediate interference by the apex court, the plea alleged that the selection process smacked of complete arbitrariness and violated the petitioners' rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.