Exclusive: 2015 Kerala District Judges appointment challenged in Supreme Court

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Kerala High Court in a petition challenging the selection process of appointment of District Judges for 2015.

The Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and R Banumathi also said that the matter should be placed before a larger Bench.

The Court was hearing a petition filed by six candidates who had taken part in the selection without success. The petition challenges the decision of the Administrative Committee of the Kerala High Court, which introduced additional requirements for selection of candidates for the post of District Judge after the examination was over.

Advocate CN Sreekumar appeared for the petitioners.

The petition contends that the Administrative Committee introduced a new criteria that only those candidates who secured minimum of 50 per cent (general) & 40 per cent (special category) in the viva voce will be included in the list.

“It has come to the knowledge of the petitioners that the prescription of minimum marks for the interview was fixed after the entire selection process was over. It is submitted that decision of the Administrative committee would reveal that the prescription of minimum cut off for the viva voce was fixed when all that remained in the matter was the preparation of rank list.”

The petitioners were weeded out on the premise that they did not secure the minimum cut off marks for the interview.

“It may be pointed out that there was no requirement of minimum marks for viva voce in selections for years 2011, 2012 and 2014.”

The petition further says that the change of criteria is arbitrary and amounts to injustice.

“Because the change of criteria is arbitrary and it has resulted in manifest injustice to the petitioners.”

It has also been submitted that the decision of the Administrative Committee is in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The petitioners have further argued that the impugned decision bypasses the Kerala State Higher Judicial Services Rules, 1961.

Based on the above, the petitioners have prayed for conducting an “interview de novo in accordance with the Rules after declaring that the marks awarded to all the 40 candidates in the present viva voce as arbitrary and ultra vires the Special Rules”.