Cancel both papers for ‘level playing field’, Prosecuting Officer aspirants ask JKPSC

SRINAGAR — Aspirants for Prosecuting Officers on Thursday urged Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) to cancel both papers instead of the one and conduct a fresh examination to provide “a level playing field” for all.

JKPSC on Wednesday cancelled “Paper-II” which is of qualifying nature with the further announcement that an examination for it will be conducted on March 16. However, a number of aspirants called the news agency GNS since the announcement was made close-of-day Wednesday, alleging that the cancelation of only Paper-II will provide an advantage to those aspirants who have scored better marks in Paper-I and that decision “rides roughshod” over others.

“As per the scheme of examination, both the papers have an importance of their own. The Paper-I score will count only after one qualifies Paper-II,” the aspirants said, adding, “Had the JKPSC not cancelled the Paper-II ab-initio, those who are having a better score at present in Paper-I would not make it to merit list and selection was to be made among those who qualified by having required numbers in Paper-II.” Now that JKPSC has chosen to cancel only Paper-II, it was providing undue advantage at the cost of others to some aspirants, they said.

“This is clear injustice and unfair with most aspirants,” they said, adding, “It smacks of arbitrariness or to put it in other words, it is irrational and offends the basic requirement of Article 14 of the Constitution.” They said that with the announcement, the JKPSC was setting a “wrong precedent.”

“The examination scheme is such that an aspirant has to first qualify the Paper-II by getting a score as provided under the notification,” they said, adding, “By allowing somebody who has fared better in Paper-I two chances is plainly injustice. Does someone who has fared better in Paper-II and not so good in Paper-I, also deserve two chances at Paper-I?” This clearly, they said, was “unfair”.

As per the JKPSC, its decision to cancel Paper-II followed representations from the candidates through the J&K High Court Bar Association Jammu and others, claiming that the standard of the qualifying paper was higher than the level prescribed in the notification.

“The JKPSC itself has admitted that representations received by it requested for re-conducting the examination, meaning both papers, or allowing the aspirants to appear in the main examination,” the aspirants said, adding, “The JKPSC has chosen to set a wrong precedent and we request the Commission to revisit its decision of only conducting examination for Paper-II, thereby allowing two chances to some aspirants and denying same opportunity to others.”