The High Court of Telangana has directed the State government to re-examine the appointments, review the eminence and suitability of six members of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).
A bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C. V. Bhaskar Reddy pronounced this verdict in a PIL petition filed by retired professor of Economics in Kakatiya University A. Vinayak Reddy. The petitioner had questioned the appointment of Commission members — Ramavath Dhan Singh, Bandi Linga Reddy, Sumithra Anand Tanoba, Karam Ravinder Reddy, Dr. Aravelli Chandrasekhar Rao and R. Satyanarayana.
The plea was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India as a public interest litigation (PIL) to declare the appointment of six Commission members vide G. O. Ms. No. 108 dated 19.05.2021 issued by the General Administration (Services-A) Department, Telangana government as arbitrary and illegal. The petitioner said the GO was violative of Regulations 3 (2)(a) and (b) of Telangana State Public Service Commission Regulations, 2014 and sought the Court to set aside such appointments.
The HC observed that the Supreme Court said merely because there are no rules or guidelines it would not absolve the State from carrying out a bona fide exercise before such selections and appointments are made. It directed the government to carry out fresh exercise within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the copy.
The Court also said the question of setting aside the GO ‘at this stage’ would not arise but the same would be subject to fresh consideration by the State. The order also mentioned that it should not be understood that the Court is casting aspersions on the eminence and suitability of the Chairman and the members.
It noted that it did not mean that the State should abdicate its responsibility in carrying out the consultative process to shortlist eminent and suitable persons for appointment as chairman and members of the Commission. “No such exercise is discernible,” the Court observed.
