SC declares Sindh’s public service exam 2013 void, orders appointment of new SPSC chief

The Supreme Court on Monday declared the tests and interviews held for the Combined Competitive Exam-2013 under Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) null and void, and ordered the government to appoint a new SPSC chairman within two weeks.

Justice Mazhar Alam issued the verdict while disposing off a suo moto notice on anomalies in appointments of the commission’s members.

The Supreme Court ordered the government to appoint chairman and members of the Sindh Public Service Commission within a month, on merit.

“Persons of integrity and competence possessing the prescribed qualifications should be appointed to the vacant positions should be appointed to the vacant positions of members of the commission within four weeks of the announcement of this judgement.”

It should be ensured that all members of the commission meet the prescribed qualifications, the judgement added.

“A person of integrity and competence who meets the stipulated qualification for appointment as chairman of the commission be appointed in terms of Article 242 (1B) of the Constitution within two weeks.”

The 2013 examinations were cancelled due to discrepancies. “In view of large scale illegalities and discrepancies committed in the written tests and interviews of CCE-2013 the same are set aside and cancelled,” the court order read.

The court however made it clear that the screening tests results were not cancelled.

The suo motu case was initiated on an application sent to the chief justice by Advocate Mohammad Junaid Farooqui challenging the eligibility of the chairman as well as of eight members of the SPSC on the grounds that they did not possess the required qualification for the posts.

The case was decided by a three-member bench last month and the decision was reserved.

The verdict said that all the candidates who appeared in the SPSC examinations during the said period will have to appear again.

During the period, 27,000 candidates had appeared in the examinations, out of which 644 cleared the examinations and subsequently 227 candidates were declared successful in interviews.

The SPSC chairman and five members had resigned following the suo moto notice.

Earlier, on October 17, 2016, a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali had restrained the SPSC from making fresh appointments of new provincial government employees pending decision of the court.

Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that all the SPSC exams during 2013-16 were declared null and void. However, only the results for CCE-2013 were declared void. The error is regretted.

Source: Dawn