Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court issued notices to the Sindh chief secretary, the provincial secretary of services and general administration department and Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) chairman on Wednesday to file their respective replies to a petition against alleged favoritism and nepotism in holding the interviews for employment of candidates having passed combined competitive examination.

A division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar was hearing the petition filed by Yasir Ali, Rashid Ali Sodhar, Veesomal, and Waqar Ahmed who have moved to the court accusing the SPSC of rigging in the interviews to favor their relatives and friends.

The petitioners submitted that the SPSC had given advertisement in July 2013, inviting applications from eligible candidates for appointment on various posts in grade-16 and 17 through combined competitive examination. Later in 2014, the SPSC decided to conduct screening test and the aspirants were required to secure a minimum of 50 percent marks to qualify for appearing in the written examination. The screening test was conducted in December 2014 and then, the commission issued a list of successful candidates which included the names of the petitioners.

The petitioners told the judges that they had cleared the subsequent written examination held in April 2015 and were called for interviews which were conducted from April 25 to 11th of August this year. To the dismay of three petitioners, their names were not on the list, whereas petitioner Rashid Ali Sodhar was declared successful and appointed to the post of additional district controller (BS-16) in the food department, they added.

The commission neither issued them mark sheets nor published a final merit list or waiting list of successful candidates on its website, which is flagrant violation of the settled laws and norms set by Federal Public Service Commission and Punjab Public Service Commission which make results public by posting them on their portals to maintain transparency, they argued.

They complained that the SPSC did not reserve any quota for women candidates, nor did it reserve any for the candidates hailing from minorities in violation of the Sindh Civil Servant Act 1973.

“To the dismay and consternation of successful candidates, the members of the interviewing committee extended undue and unfair favor and benefits to their relatives and friends,” they alleged. Citing one such example, they told the judges, candidate Ghulam Nabi, who is the son of the one committee members, was declared successful in viva voce.

Moreover, they said, the SPSC’s chairman and members are not eligible to hold the important posts as they did not meet the conditions laid down in sub-section 3 of Section 3 of the Sindh Public Service Commission Act 1989. They told the judges that the apex court had already taken suo motu notice of the unlawful appointments of the commission chairman and its members and subsequently, have restrained them from making further appointments.

The court was pleaded to set aside all the interviews conducted by the SPSC’s interviewing committee and has ordered the commission to constitute fresh committee to conduct fresh interviews.