Chennai: The Madras high court on Tuesday stayed an order of a single judge, which issued a set of directions to be followed by the transport corporations in the state in the appointment to the lower posts like conductor, driver, junior posts, etc., which included giving weightage to academic marks or holding written test. A division bench, comprising justices P.N. Prakash and K. Kalyanasundaram, granted the interim stay while admitting an appeal from the general manager of the TN state transport corporation and ordering notice to J. Kovaisamy and three others.
Holding that the selection based exclusively on an interview was bad and illegal, Justice D. Hariparanthaman had on December 12 directed the transport corporations to give weightage to the academic marks obtained in the educational qualifications, when the educational qualification was prescribed under the service rules as class 10/class 12 or to hold written test commensurate with the qualification prescribed.
When the prescribed educational qualification was less than class 10 or the prescribed qualification was a degree etc., the selection shall be based solely on written test, the judge had added.In its appeal, the transport corporation submitted that the order had been passed on a mere apprehension that the selection process as per the common service rules will encourage unfairness and nepotism.
But there was no cogent reason assigned by the judge for discrepancies that may or may not occur in the selection process. The single judge had said reliance on the written examination was the sole process of selection. The judge had given a go-by to the interview process, which was a better method of selection for it culled out various characteristics of the candidates and also was a vintage process of selection being adopted, the transport corporation added.
