Many Govt Job Aspirants Pursue LLB, Law Is Essential Subject For Some Posts: P&H High Court Quashes GK-Based Syllabus For Haryana ADA Exam

In a significant ruling, the High Court has quashed the Haryana Public Service Commission's advertisement for Assistant District Attorney (ADA) posts, which featured a general knowledge-based syllabus while excluding law as a core subject in screening test. The court observed that thousands of students pursue LLB degrees with the hope of securing public employment, and that legal knowledge is essential for posts like ADA.The new syllabus for Haryana ADA Screening Test included Current Events of National and International Importance, History of India, Indian and World Geography, Indian Culture, Indian Polity and Indian Economy, General Mental Ability, Reasoning and Analytical Abilities, Basic numeracy, numbers and their relations, Data interpretation, Haryana GK History etc. and excludes law subject.Justice Sandeep Moudgil said, "In a country where thousands of students enroll each year in 3-year and 5-year LL.B. programmes with the hope that their legal education will open doors to public employment in certain posts where law is not merely relevant but essential, ADA being one of them. Conducting a shortlisting process that excludes legal subjects altogether defeats the very premise of their qualification. When candidates possessing the prescribed essential qualification are filtered out at the threshold by tests assessing areas unrelated to their academic training, this nullifies the purpose of professional legal education."The Court added that, "unreasonable procedure adopted by the commission renders the legal degree possessed by the candidates inconsequential and takes away a fair and equal opportunity of public employment from a large number of candidates."One must remember that the purpose of the screening test was to aid opportunity to all. In a country as vast and varied as ours, marked by economic disparity and unequal access to resources, public employment is not just a job, it is a gateway to empowerment. Therefore, screening is not merely a sieve to identify the best but also a bridge that connects potential with possibility, it said.Justice Moudgil highlighted that the screening stage is the first invitation in the journey towards public employment. It must be fair and reasonable to embrace the full spectrum of country's human potential.Screening Test Lacked Rational NexusThe bench opined that the screening process adopted by entirely excluding legal subjects for a legally specialized post like ADA fails to meet the standard of legality in recruitment and it lacks rational nexus with the nature of the post, operates arbitrarily, and undermines the very qualifications it seeks to assess, thereby rendering the process legally unsustainable."However, the approach adopted by the commission has serious and far-reaching implications causing prejudice to many brilliant legal minds. When the marks obtained in a screening test are not carried forward or counted towards the final merit, then what compelled the commission to change the syllabus and make the test the sole determinant of who proceeds to the next stage," it added.The bench said that, candidates invest significant time, energy, and resources to prepare for recruitment processes that hold the promise of public employment and to subject them to an elimination round that is wholly detached from the final selection not only dilutes the legitimacy of the process but also renders their efforts futile.Court Bound To Reach InjusticeIt further clarified that it is true that the court does not normally interfere with the selections made by duly constituted Body. However, it is equally settled that the court in the exercise of its extra-ordinary jurisdiction, is bound to "reach injustice wherever it occurs". While courts must exercise restraint in interfering with the discretion granted to expert bodies in matters concerning selection procedures, such discretion must nevertheless maintain a clear and rational connection to the objective intended to be achieved. Unjust To Eliminate Candidates On Basis Of GK For Post With LLB As Essential QualificationThe Court noted that it is constitutional injury as these candidates are not being rejected after a full and fair evaluation of their suitability, they are being denied even the fair chance to be considered. The selection is not at stake here, but the opportunity to be considered for selection and by denying such a vast majority of eligible candidates access to the next stage, the process effectively locks them out of the zone of consideration altogether without even testing their ability on legal acumen of the essential qualification i.e., LLB, BA, LLB degree course. "And in doing so, it extinguishes their fundamental right of equal opportunity of public employment. This right is not abstract but it is the bedrock of our democratic promise that every individual has an equal stake in public service," it added.Violation Right To Equal Opportunity The Court said that the rule of law, being the core of the...

Many Govt Job Aspirants Pursue LLB, Law Is Essential Subject For Some Posts: P&H High Court Quashes GK-Based Syllabus For Haryana ADA Exam

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