SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONversusA.B. NATARAJAN & ORS. ETC.

                          [2014] 8 S.C.R. 32


A         SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE
                       COMMISSION
                                   v.
                  A.B. NATARAJAN & ORS. ETC.
               (Civil Appeal Nos.5877-5878 of 2014)
B
                           JUNE 30, 2014

             [ANIL R. DAVE AND DIPAK MISRA, JJ.]

         Service Law - Selection/ appointment - Posts for Group I
C  Service - A/legations that the candidates indulged in
   malpractice and grossly violated the instructions given in the
   question paper - Writ petition by respondent who had not
   made to the list of appointee, dismissed by the Single Judge
   of the High Court - However, appellate court set aside the
D selection - Justification of - Held: Appellate Court justified by
   holding that all those candidates who had committed material
   irregularities could not be declared selected - Candidates
   committed serious irregularities in their answer books - By not
    following the instructions they did not act in a bona fide manner
E - Violating instructions amounted to misconduct - Giving
   indication to the examiner about the identity of the candidate
  ·by writing their name, code or sign of religion cannot be
   permitted if one wants clean, fair and transparent process of
    selection - A/so it would mean that the candidate was so
F careless that he did not read or bother about the instructions
   - Such candidate cannot be expected to be a good officer that
   too Class I officer - As regards, allegation with regard to non-
   joinder of selected candidates or even the State there is no
   substance.
G       The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission invited
    applications for direct recruitment to Group I Services.
    After examination and interview, a final select list was
    prepared. The applicants who could not make it to the final

H                                  32
    SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE                      33
           COMM. v. A.B. NATARAJAN

select list, filed writ petitions alleging certain irregularities   A
and malpractice in the conduct of examination.. The Single
Judge of the High Court dismissed the petitions. The
appellate court held that there were material irregularities
committed by the candidates while answering the
questions by violating the instructions given to the                B
candidates. The Division Bench allowed the appeals and
directed that the final list prepared by the Commission be
modified. Hence, the instant appeals.

     Dismissing the appeals, the Court
                                                                    c
     HELD: 1.1. Serious irregularities had been committed
by the candidates in their answer books. If one looks at
the instructions, which had been given to the candidates
for writing the answer books, it is clear that they had been
informed in unequivocal terms that they had to use only             D
blue, blue-black or black ink and they were supposed to
use only fountain pen, steel pen or ballpoint pen. In spite
of the said instructions, several candidates had used
sketch pens, pencils and pens or pencils with different
colours. Use of different colours or pencil could have              E
given some indication to the examiner about the identity
of the candidate. These facts clearly show that either the
candidates were absolutely careless or they wanted ta
give some indication with regard to themselves to the
examiner. If a candidate writes his answer book giving              F
some indication with regard to himself with the help of a
different ink or pencil-other than the prescribed writing
instrument and the colour of ink, one can definitely
presume that the candidate did not act in a bona fide
manner. [Para 13] [41-C-F]
                                                                    G
     1.2. There was a specific direction that the candidates
had to start writing the answer books from the first page
and no page should be left blank. In spite of the said clear
instruction, several candidates kept several pages blank
and what is most astonishing is that some of the                    H
    34      SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2014] 8 S.C.R.


A candidates, after keeping the entire page blank i.e.
  without answering the question had written some
  irrelevant words or names. [Para 14] [41-F-G]

       1.3. Many of the candidates had given some
8 indication with regard to some religion by writing the
  words or signs connected with a particular religion. A
  candidate is not supposed to give his identity or any
  indication with regard to himself in the answer books. If
  he does so, he is violating the instructions given to him
C which would amount to nothing but misconduct. [Para 15]
  [42-B]

       1.4. In all competitive examinations, an effort is
  always made to see that the answer books are examined
  impartially and without any bias. An effort is always made
D to see that identity of the candidate is not revealed to the
  person examining the answer books so as to see that the
  identity i.e. the name or roll number of the candidate is
  not revealed. A code number is given to each answer
  book. The roll number given to the candidate is normally
E replaced by another number so that even the examiner
  may not know the correct roll number of the candidate.
  This is done so as to remove the possibility of giving any
  indication by anyone to the examiner about the identity
  of the candidate. Upon completion of the examination
F work, original roll number of the candidate is put on the
  answer book or on the sheet prepared for the purpose
  of assigning marks, but in any case, the examiners are
  not permitted to know anything about the candidate or
  his identity. [Para 16] [42-C-F]
G       1.5. If the candidates start giving indications with
    regard to themselves by writing their name or some code
    word or some indication with an intention to convey the
    same to an examiner, so that he may have some undue
    favour, is a thing which is not approved. If such an
H
    SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE                     35
           COMM. v. A.B. NATARAJAN
attempt is permitted to be made, sanctity of the                   A
examination work would not be maintained. The entire
object behind giving code number etc. would be
frustrated if all these things are permitted or tolerated.
[Para 17] [42-F-G]
                                                                   B
    1.6. Normally, a straightforward candidate, w~o does
not want to indulge in any malpractice, would never make
any effort to reveal his identity or make any special
marking in his answer book. The purpose behind doing
something abnormal or something which is not
permitted, can be said to be an indication to the examiner         C
about the identity of the candidate. Such an action on the
part of the candidate cannot be tolerated if one wants
clean, fair and transparent process of selection. [Para 18]
[42-H; 43-A-B]
                                                                   D
     1.7. In the instant case, it is an admitted fact that there
were serious violations of the instructions given to the
candidates while answering the questions. Although all
these details were placed before the Single Judge, the
Single Judge did not give importance to these                      E
irregularities and dismissed the petitions, but when the
appeals were filed, the Division Bench of the High Court
rightly understood the importance of such irregulari.ties
and allowed the appeals by setting aside the selection of
the candidates who had committed such irregularities
                                                                   F
while writing their answer books. If such a strict view is
not taken by a constitutional body which has been
entrusted with the work of selecting best candidates, the
entire purpose behind having the Commission or any
other such body for examining merit of candidates would
be frustrated. The appellate Court was absolutely justified        G
in allowing the appeals and by holding that all those
candidates who had committed material irregularities
could not be declared selected. [Para 19] [43-C-F]

                                                                   H
    36      SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2014] 8 S.C.R.


A        1.8. The candidates who had applied for Class-I post,
    if selected, were to be Class-I Officers of the State of Tamil
    Nadu. Not following the instructions given to them while
    appearing in the examination, which had been conducted
    for their selection, would either mean that they were so
B   careless that they did not read or bother about the
    instructions to be followed or they wanted to give some
    indication to the examiner about their identity. In either
    case, such a candidate cannot be selected. A candidate,
    who is so careless that he does not bother about his own
C   interest, cannot be expected to become a good officer.
    Interest of the candidate is to get through the examination
    and for that purpose he has to follow the instructions. By
    not following the instructions, he does not take care of
    his own interest. So, if he had written the answer books
    carelessly without bothering about the instructions given
0
    to him, he is a careless person who must not be
    appointed as an officer and if he has done it deliberately,
    then also he should not be appointed as an officer
    because one who plans such illegalities even before
    joining his service, cannot be expected to become a fair .
E   and straightforward officer. So, in either case, such a
    candidate cannot be selected for appointment as an
    officer and that too a Class-I Officer of any State. Further,
    there is no substance in the allegations with regard to
    non-joinder of selected candidates or even the State of
F   Tamil Nadu. The impugned judgment is just and proper
    and does not deserve any interference. [Paras 12, 20 and
    21] [44-C-G; 41-8]

      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos.
G 5877-5878 of 2014.
        From the Judgment and Order dated 04.03.2011 in W.A
    No. 1063/2009, W.A No. 1287/2009 of the High Court of
    Madras.

H
   SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE                          37
          COMM. v. A.B. NATARAJAN
                               WITH                                     A

C.A. Nos. 5879, 5880-5881, 5882-5883 & 5884 of 2014.
                                                           '
     K. Parasaran, Rakesh Dwivedi, P.S. Patwalia, V.
Balachandran, Subramonium Prasad, M: Yogesh Kanna,
Niraimati, V.G. Pragasam, S.J. Arfototle, Prabhu B
Ramasubramanian, Jayanth Muth Raj, Malavika J., Sureshan
P. for the Appellant. ·

    A. Mariarputham, B. Adinarayana Rao, T. Anamika, B.V.
Chandan, N. Subramanyan, A. Chandramohan, Subramonium                   c
Prasad, B. Balaji, R. Rakesh Sharma, Meha, C.K. Sasi for the
Respondents.

    The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

     ANIL R. DAVE, J. 1. Leave granted.                                 D

     2. As all these appeals have been filed against a common
judgment dated 4th March, 2011, delivered by the High Court
of Judicature at Madras in Writ Appeal Nos.1063 and 1287 of
2009, they have been heard together and decided by this E
common judgment.

     3. The facts giving rise to the present litigation in a nutshell
are as follows.

      The Tamil Nadu Pub1ic Service Commission (hereinafter F
referred to as 'the Commission') had issued an advertisement
on 27th December, 2000, inviting applications for 95 posts for
Group I Services. Subsequently, the vacancies had been
decreased and it was notified that in all 91 vacancies had to
be filled up.                                                  G

    4. In pursuance of the aforesaid advertisement, several
candidates had submitted their applications and ultimately they
had also appeared in the preliminary examination. The
candidates who had been declared qualified in the preliminary
                                                                        H
    38       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2014] 8 S.C.R.


A   examination were asked to appear in the main written
    examination. Subsequently, oral interviews had been
    conducted of the candidates who were selected in the main
    examination and thereafter a final select list had been prepared
    by the Commission.
B
          5. Writ petitions had been filed in the Madras High Court
    contending that the scaling technique was not properly applied
    by the Commission and certain irregularities had been
    committed in the examination. There were amendments in the
    petitions and subsequently it was also alleged that there were
c   some malpractices and a prayer was made to the effect that
    the Central Bureau of Investigation should be directed to look
    into the matter.

         6. When the petitions were heard by the learned Single
D   Judge of the High Court, an advocate was appointed as the
    Court Commissioner to look into the alleged irregularities and
    in pursuance thereof a report had been submitted by the
    learned advocate. Once again, another advocate was
    appointed as the Court Commissioner to look into the
E   allegations and inspect the answer books to find out whether
    the instructions given to the candidates had been strictly
    adhered to while answering the question papers. A report was
    also submitted by the other learned advocate. Both the reports
    had been considered by the learned Single Judge and
    ultimately the learned Single Judge had dismissed the petitions.
F
    Being aggrieved by dismissal of the petitions, appeals had
    been filed before the Division Bench of the High Court, which
    had been heard at length. After hearing the learned counsel
    appearing for the parties, the appeals had been allowed by a
    common judgment, which has been challenged in these
G
    appeals.

        7. The appellate Court came to the conclusion that there
    were material irregularities committed by the candidates while
    answering the questions. Several instructions given to the
H   candidates had been grossly violated by the candidates.
   SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE                        39
   COMM. v. A.B. NATARAJAN [ANIL R. DAVE, J.]
Details with regard to the irregalarities committed by the           A
candidates, which could have resulted into malpractices, have
been detailed ~Y the appellate Court in the impugned judgment.

      8. Upon perusal of the judgment it is clear that most of the
candidates had not adhered to the instructions given lo them,
                                                                     8
which were to be followed while answering the questions. The
candidates had made several unwarranted indications or
markings in their answer books, which ought not to have been
made .by them. Though use of coloured pens had been
prohibited, several candidates had used colours other than blue,     C
blue-black and black, which were the only permissible colours.
Use of pencil was not permitted and yet pencil markings were
made by several candidates. Several candidates had given
different indications by putting certain religious syll?bols.
Moreover, certain pages of answer books were deliberately
kept blank though they were supposed to write on each page.          D
All these indications given by the candidates, which were not
called for, were considered very seriously by the Division Bench
of the High Court and after referring to all these irregularities,
the Division Bench had allowed the appeals.
                                                                     E
      9. The learned counsel appearing for the appellants,
namely, the Commission and the selected candidates, had
mainly submitted that the Division Bench had exceeded its
jurisdiction and had violated not only the principles of natural
justice, but had also decided the appeals, though all the            F
selected candidates were not before the Court. It had also been
submitted that use of colours other than the colours prescribed
in the instructions given to the candidates or use of pencil was
not very serious. Moreover, giving an indication with regard to
any religion should not have been taken seriously by the             G
appellate Court. It had also been submitted that proper notice
had not been effected upon all the selected candidates and
therefore, also the appellate Court was not right in allowing the
appeals. It had also been alleged that the State of Tamil Nadu,
the appointing authority, had not been impleaded as a party          H
    40       SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2014] 8 S.C.R.


A respondent at the time when the petitions haa been filed,
  though the State of Tamil Nadu was a necessary party. For the
  aforestated reasons, it had been submitted by the learned
  counsel appearing for the appellants that the impugned
  judgment deserved to be quashed and set aside. The learned
B counsel had also supported their submissions with certain
  judgments delivered by this Court.

          10.~0n the other hand, it had been submitted by the
    learned counsel appearing for the respondents, mainly
C   appearing for the candidates who had not been declared
    successful, that the appeals deserved dismissal for the reason
    that the appellate Court had duly considered all relevant facts
    and had come to a clear finding that serious irregularities had
    been committed by the candidates which might have given rise ·
    to serious malpractices and therefore, the final select list
D   prepared by the Commission had been rightly ordered to be
    modified by the High Court. It had been further submitted that
    a clear indication was given in the order of appointment that
    appointments of all the selected candidates were subject to final
    outcome of the writ petition which had been filed in the High
E   Court. Moreover, not only notices had been issued to the
    selected candidates, pendency of the litigation had been duly
    advertised so as to enable the selected candidates to appear
    before the Court, but for the reasons best known to the
    concerned candidates, they did not appear before the High
F   Court and ultimately the appellate Court had passed the
    impugned judgment. In the circumstances, they must thank
    themselves for their non-appearance before the Court. It had
    also been submitted that initially the State of Tamil Nadu had
    not been joined for the reason that the entire selection process
G   had been challenged and the selection process had been
    conducted by the Commission and not by the State. The
    learned counsel had also supported their submissions with
    certain judgments delivered by this Court. For the aforestated
    reasons, the learned counsel appearing tbr the respondents had
H
   SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE                          41
   COMM. v. A.B. NATARAJAN [ANIL R. DAVE, J.]

submitted that the impugned judgment is just and proper and             A
the appeals deserved dismissal.

     11. We had heard the learned counsel at length and had
also considered the judgments cited by them.

     12. Upon hearing the learned counsel and considering the           8
facts of the case, in our opinion, the impugned judgment is just
and proper and does not deserve any interference.

      13. It is an admitted fact that serious irregularities had been
committed by the candidates in their answer books. If one looks         c
at the instructions, which had been given to the candidates for
writing the answer books, it is clear that they had been informed
in unequivocal terms that they had to use only blue, blue-black
or black ink and they were supposed to use only fountain pen,
steel pen or ballpoint pen. In spite of the said instructions,          o
several candidates had used sketch pens, pencils and pens
or pencils with different colours. Use of different colours or
pencil could have given some indication to the examiner about
the identity of the candidate. These facts clearly show that either
the candidates were absolutely careless or they wanted to give          E
some indication with regard to themselves to the examiner. If
a candidate writes his answer book giving some indication with
regard to himself with the help of a different ink or pencil - other
than the prescribed writing instrument and the colour of ink, one
can definitely presume that the candidate did not act in a bona
fide manner.
                                                                        F

      14. There was a specific direction that the candidates had
to start writing the answer books from the first page and no
page should be left blank. In spite of the said clear instruction,
several candidates kept several pages blank and what is most            G
astonishing is that some of the candidates, after keeping the
entire page blank i.~. without answering the question had
written some irrelevant words or names. As for example, in one
case on the entire page 'MANI' was written. This is nothing but
                                                                        H
    42         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  (2014] 8 S.C.R.


A    some indication to the examiner, which is definitely not
     permitted.

           15. Many of the candidates had given some indication with
     regard to some religion by writing the words or signs connected
     with a particular religion. A candidate is not supposed to give
B
     his identity or any indication with regard to hirnself in the answer
     books. If he does so, he is violating the instructions given to
     him which would amount to nothing but misconduct.

           16. In all competitive examinations, an effort. is always
· C · made to see that the answer books are examined impartially
      and without any bias. An effort is always made to see that
      identity of the candidate is not revealed to the person examining
      the answer books so as to see that the identity i.e. the name
      or roll number of the candidate is not revealed. A code number
  D ·is given to each answer book. The roll number given to the
      candidate is normally replaced by another number so that even
      the examiner may not know the correct roll number of the
      candidate. This is done so as to remove the possibility of giving
      any indication by anyone to the examiner about the identity of
  E the candidate. Upon completion of the examination work,
      original rdll number of the candidate is put on the answer book
      or on the sheet prepared for the purpose of assigning marks,
      but in arif case, the examiners are not permitted to know
      anything about the candidate or his identity.
F          17. If the candidates start giving indications with regard
     to themselves by writing their name or some code word or some
     indication with an intention to cc;mvey the same to an examiner:
     so that he may have some undye favour, is a thing which is not
     approved. If such an attempt is permitted to be made, sanctity
G    of the examinatior-i work would not be maintained. The entire
     object behind giving code number etc. would be frustrated if
     all these things are permitted or tolerated.

         18. Normally, a straightforward candidate, .who does not
H    want to indulge in any malpractice, would never make any effort
   SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE                          43
   COMM. v. A.B. NATARAJAN [ANIL R. DAVE, J.]

to reveal his identity or make any special marking in his answer A
book. The purpose behind doing something abnormal or
something which is not permitted, can be said to be an
indication to the exar;niner about the identity of the candidate.
Such an action on the part of the candidate cannot be tolerated
if one wants clean, fair and transparent process of selection.    B

      19. In the instant case, it is an admitted fact that there were
serious violations of the instructions given to the candidates
while answering the questions. Although all these details were
placed before the learned Single Judge, the learned Single C
Judge did not give importance to these irregularities and
dismissed the petitions, but when the appeals were filed, in our
opinion, the Division Bench of the High Court rightly understood
the importance of such irregularities and allowed the appeals
by setting aside the selection of the candidates who had D
committed such irregularities while writing their answer books.
We are of the view that if such a strict view is not taken by a
constitutional body which has been entrusted with the work of
selecting best candidates, the entire purpose behind having the
Commission or any other such body for examining merit of
candidates would be frustrated. We are, therefore, of the view E
ttiat the appellate Court was absolutely justified in allowing the
appeals and by holding that all those candidates who had
committed material irregularities could not be declared selected.,

      20. Several allegations had been made with-regard to the          F
procedural aspect. It had been submitted that all the selected
candidates had not been joined as respondents and even the
State of Tamil Nadu had not been joined as a respondent
initially. Initially only one petition had been filed when the result
had not been declared and it was also not possible for the              G
petitioners to join all selected candidates. Subsequently, an
advertisement had been given in the newspapers giving
indication about the pendency of the petition so as to enable
the selected candidates to appear before the Court. Moreover,
                                                                        H
    44       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2014] 8 S.C.R.


A   the appointment letters gave an indication of the fact that a
    litigation challenging their appointment was pending in the High
    Court. In spite of the aforesaid fact being stated in the
    appointment order and the advertisement, if selected
    candidates did not bother to appear before the Court, by no
B   stretch of imagination, it can be said that the selected
    candidates were not given an opportunity to represent their
    case. V'{e, therefore, do not find any substance in the allegations
    with regard to non-joinder of selected candidates or even the
    State of Tamil Nadu.
c       21. The candidates who had applied for Class-I post, if
  selected, were to be Class-I Officers of the State of Tamil Nadu.
  Not following the instructions given to them while appearing in
  the examination, which had been conducted for their selection,
  would either mean that they were so careless that they did not
D read or bother about the instructions to be followed or they
  wanted to give some indication to the examiner about their
  identity. In either case, such a candidate can not be selected.
  A candidate, who is so careless that he does not bother about
  his own interest, cannot be expected to become a good officer.
E Interest of the candidate is to get through the examination and
  for that purpose he has to follow the instructions. By not following
  the instructions, he does not take care of his own interest. So,
  if he has written the answer books carelessly without bothering
  about the instructions given to him, he is a careless person who
F must not be appointed as an officer and if he has done it
  deliberately, then also he should not be appointed as an officer
  because one who plans such illegalities even before joining his
  service, cannot be expected to become a fair and
  straightforward officer. So, in either case, such a candidate
G cannot be selected for appointment as an officer and that. too
  a Class-I Officer of any State.

        22. For the reasons recorded hereinabove, we are of the
    view that the Division Bench of the High Court was justified in

H
    SECRETARY, TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE                    45
    COMM. v. A.B. NATARAJAN [ANIL R. DAVE, J.]

delivering the impugned common judgment. The law                  A
propounded in the judgments referred to by the counsel for the
appellants cannot be disputed, but looking at the facts of the
instant case, we are of the view that the said judgments would
be of no help to them.
                                                                  B
    23. In the circumstances, the appeals are dismissed with
no order as to costs.
Nidhi Jain                                   Appeals dismissed.