SHILLONG: High Court of Meghalaya has dismissed a petition filed by 34 unsuccessful candidates for the post of staff nurse after saddling them with costs.
The 34 candidates who had appeared in the written examination held on October 7, 2017 but could not secure the minimum 50 percent marks for the recruitment to the post of staff nurse advertised by the Director of Health Service Meghalaya, had approached the High Court to relax the minimum qualifying marks and allow them to participate in the personal interview.
Lawyer, Khalid Khan said that in the judgment delivered on December 1, 2017 the High court after hearing and examining the records found that the writ petition remains totally bereft of substance and deserved to be dismissed with cost.
During the hearing, the High Court further held that the writ petitioners having taken chance to appear in the written examination and remained unsuccessful cannot turn around later and challenge the method of selection as being illegal.
The writ petitioners were conscious of the fact that as per the guidelines of the advertisement that the written examination was of 100 marks and minimum qualifying mark 50. Further this minimum mark was uniformly applicable to all categories of candidates.
These candidates took a calculated chance and appeared in the written examination and thereafter having remained unsuccessful now cannot claim reduction of minimum qualifying marks.
For the post of staff nurse 2476 candidates appeared and as many as 1347 candidates were able to secure 50 percent qualifying marks.
In the case of the present 34 candidates, the court held that in matters of employment normally the candidates are not saddled with cost if the writ petition is required to be dismissed, but in the case of the present candidates since they have appeared in the written examination without any demur and after having been unsuccessful have chosen to approach the court on entirely baseless premise, the court found it imperative that the 34 candidates be saddled with cost, the cost of Rs 500 each was imposed on these candidates, which was quantified at Rs 17000.
