SHILLONG: In a directive that would give some hope to the candidates who had been selected for appointment to the post of forest guards in 2006, the High Court of Meghalaya has asked the District Selection Committee to allow the over-aged aspirants to appear for the exams following the issue of a fresh advertisement for recruitment to the same post.
The writ petitioners had appeared for the recruitment test conducted by the District Selection Committee for employment to the posts of Forest Guards from 28-02-2006 to 03-03-2006 and their names figured were in the list of appointees prepared by the DSC.
The Court observed that it is the admitted case of both the parties that validity of the panel list in which the names of the petitioners appeared was extended from time to time till the Government of Meghalaya under the letter dated 03-02-2015 to the Deputy Commissioner & Chairman, District Selection Committee, West Jaintia Hills declined to extend the validity period of the panel list.
The respondents had issued an advertisement dated 18- 11-2015 inviting applications from eligible candidates for recruitment to various posts including Forest Guards and the petitioners are now over-aged for recruitment to the post.
The petitioners, who were once selected for appointment to the post of Forest Guards, had filed a joint representation on March 30, 2015 to the Chief Secretary, for relaxing the upper age limit for appointment to the post of Forest Guards.
In the hearing, counsel appearing for the petitioners contended that the representation is still pending with the Chief Secretary.
The Government counsel contended that direction may be made to the Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya to consider and dispose of the representation of the petitioners.
The Court observed that the petitioners, at one time, were selected for appointment to the posts of Forest Guards and their representation is pending and also that the last date for receiving applications in response to the advertisement dated 18-11-2015 is at 4.30 PM on 17-12-2015.
“This Court is of the considered view that an ad-interim order is called for. In the interim, it is provided that the applications filed by the petitioners in response to the advertisement dated 18-11- 2015 shall be received by the District Selection Committee and they shall be allowed to appear for the exams before the District Selection Committee for the post of Forest Guards subject to the result of the writ petition,” the Court order said.
The case has been again listed for hearing in the first week of February.
