“

Two candidates removed from merit list,

cut off lowered from 92 to 91

to pick up Law Secretary’s son,

Suhail Hassan Tantray, for a post of

Assistant Legal Remembrancer

in Law Department!

”

 This story was published as banner lead in daily Early Times of April 15, 2011 (http://www.earlytimes.in/) [Back Issues]

PSC breaks law for Law Secretary’s son

Two IAS officers add a feather to SL Bhat’s cap as the last nail in PSC’s coffin

Their advantage: A Government that barks on corruption and nepotism but does not bite

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Apr 14: Secretary of J&K State Public Service Commission (PSC), Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari, and the state government’s Law Secretary, Ghulam Hassan Tantray, are known as fast friends in bureaucratic circles but it is hard to establish that the two IAS officers were in collusion to appoint latter’s son as Assistant Legal Remembrancer (ALR) in the state Law Department by unfair means. The incontrovertible fact, however, remains that the PSC removed two particular candidates from merit shortlist of the Open Merit (OM) category, lowered the cut off from 92 to 91 marks and thus included the Law Secretary’s son among the candidates to be interviewed for final selection on April 16^th. If selected, it would be for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir bureaucracy that a Secretary to Government would be issuing the appointment orders of his own son.

Without questioning integrity and competence of the PSC Chairman and members, documentary evidence in possession of Early Times reveals how merit of the poor candidates is marred with impunity in the PSC and how ruthlessly they are slaughtered at the feet of the legatees of bureaucrats and politicians in the government of the state’s cleanest ever Chief Minister.

Law Department, headed by Ghulam Hassan Tantray, referred 15 posts of Assistant Legal Remembrancers/ Public Law Officers to PSC soon after Secretary’s son, Suhail Hassan Tantray, completed two years of practical experience at Bar last in May 2010. Posts were advertised vide Notification No: 03-PSC of 2010 dated 28-05-2010. Before Bukhari, Mr Tantray has himself served a term as Secretary of PSC.

In September 2010, Law Department amalgamated the posts of ALR, PLO and Assistant Draftsman (Translation) and made them part of J&K Legal Services (Gazetted) Service. Tantray communicated it to Bukhari vide Law Department’s No: LD(Estt)94/43-II dated 09-09-2010. PSC withdrew the vacancies of ALR/ PLO from Notification No: 03 dated 28-05-2010 and advertised the same afresh vide Notification No: 14-PSC of 2010 dated 24-09-2010. While as 8 vacancies were in OM, remaining 7 were in the reserved categories of RBA (03), SC (01), ST (02) and ALC (01). Bachelors Degree in Law with two years of actual practice at Bar was prescribed as the Essential Qualification.

As over 700 law graduates applied and not more than 45 were supposed to be called for the interview (in addition to nine higher qualification LL M candidates, who were exempted under rules), PSC conducted necessary Screening Test, after scrutiny of each candidate’s documents and testimonials, on 27-02-2011.  612 candidates appeared in the test. Result was declared vide Notification No: PSC/EXAM/11/34 dated 08-03-2011. Cut off marks, out of a total of 120 marks, were also announced separately for all categories---OM (92 marks), RBA (89), SC (82), ST (76) and ALC (85).

Figuring at Serial No: 6 of the Result Notification, Suhail Hassan Tantary (Roll No: 1200007) secured 91 marks. Since the cut off for Open Merit was 92 marks, he did not fall among the candidates to be called for interview. Sources privy to the process insist that it was done “under a strategy” as all eyes on that moment were on the Law Secretary’s son.

 To keep the door open, PSC result notification came out with a “Note”. It read: “The cut off marks in respect of all the categories are purely provisional and subject to verification of documents submitted by the candidates and consequent upon determination of eligibility in accordance with rules. Corrections/Changes, if any, shall be notified separately”.

Even as the “verification of documents and final determination of eligibility” takes place invariably at the time of the interview, unless challenged in a specific case, the PSC Secretary silently removed two particular candidates from the merit shortlist--- obviously to lower the cut off to 91 and thus include the Law Secretary’s son among the candidates to be called for the interview. Both the ill-fated candidates, namely Heena Basharat (Roll No: 1200218) and Shaista Amin (Roll No: 1200221), who figured at Serial No: 168 and 171 of the PSC result notification dated 08-03-2011, secured 92 marks in the Screening Test.

Under the notified formula of ‘three candidates for one post’, total of 24 candidates, upto cut off level of 92 marks, were supposed to be called for the interview. Since three candidates, including Heena and Shaista, had secured 92 marks, the number of candidates to be called rose to 25 instead of 24. With deletion of the last 2 candidates, namely Heena and Shaista, this number reduced to the desired level of 23. That is exactly what created room for inclusion of the Law Secretary’s son, who had secured 91 marks in the Screening Test.

 (Since the number of candidates securing 91 marks was five, all of them got a right to be called alongwith Suhail Hassan Tantray---taking the number of candidates to be called for interview for 8 vacancies of Open Merit category from 23 to 28).

A month after declaration of results and fixing the cut off for OM at 92 marks, Bukhari issued an unnumbered “Notice” to declare that interviews for the 15 posts of ALRs and PLOs would be conducted by PSC at its Jammu headquarters on 16-04-2011 and 17-04-2011. Without declaring any candidate ineligible or specifying any disqualification, the “Notice” dated 06-04-2011 suggested that the cut off in Open Merit category had been lowered from 92 to 91. Cut off for all reserved categories was left intact. Suhail Hassan Tantray, who secured 91 marks in the Screening Test, figures at Serial No: 24 among 28 candidates called for the interview in OM category.

Some of the candidates believe that the two deleted candidates had no resources to complain and agitate the injustice. Some others suspect that both the girls have been bribed out or influenced by other means to remain silent.

Insiders in both, PSC as well as Law Department, insist that the entire selection exercise is a “fixed match” and all decks have been cleared to appoint 26-year-old Suhail Tantray as Assistant Legal Remembrancer in Law Department so that he becomes the state’s Law Secretary in 12 years from now, if not inducted midway into KAS and IAS to enjoy a stint as a Director or Deputy Commissioner. The great public service!

END