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2017 (4) TMI 1274 - SUPREME COURTGenuinity and Validity of examination - The allegation is that they had collected money from some of the candidates who were to appear in the said examination by assuring them appointments - cancellation of examination - 1st submission of the appellant is that there is no proof of tampering with the examination process on a large scale as asserted by the respondent, but there are only allegations of such tampering, the truth of which has never been tested by any established process of law. Therefore, the decision of the respondent to cancel the examination in its entirety is without any basis in law. Held that: - Purity of the examination process - whether such examination process pertains to assessment of the academic accomplishment or suitability of candidates for employment under the State - is an unquestionable requirement of the rationality of any examination process. Rationality is an indispensable aspect of public administration under our Constitution - The authority of the State to take appropriate measures to maintain the purity of any examination process is unquestionable. It is too well settled a principle of law in light of the various earlier decisions of this Court that where there are allegations of the occurrence of large scale malpractices in the course of the conduct of any examination process, the State or its instrumentalities are entitled to cancel the examination. Coming to the case on hand, there were allegations of large scale tampering with the examination process. Scrutiny of the answer sheets (OMR) revealed that there were glaring aberrations which provide prima facie proof of the occurrence of a large scale tampering of the examination process. Denying power to the State from taking appropriate remedial actions in such circumstances on the ground that the State did not establish the truth of those allegations in accordance with the rules of evidence relevant for the proof of facts in a Court of law (either in a criminal or a civil proceeding), would neither be consistent with the demands of larger public interest nor would be conducive to the efficiency of administration. No binding precedent is brought to our notice which compels us to hold otherwise. Therefore, the 1st submission is rejected. Whether the impugned decision could be sustained judged in the light of the principles of ‘Wednesbury unreasonableness’? - Held that: - In the language of Lord Diplock, the principle is that “a decision which is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question to be decided could have arrived at it”. Having regard to the nature of the allegations and the prima facie proof indicating the possibility of occurrence of large scale tampering with the examination process which led to the impugned action, it cannot be said that the impugned action of the respondent is “so outrageous in its defiance of logic” or “moral standards”. Therefore, the 2nd submission of the appellant is also required to be rejected. Whether the magnitude of the impugned action is so disproportionate to the mischief sought to be addressed by the respondents that the cancellation of the entire examination process affecting lakhs of candidates cannot be justified on the basis of doctrine of proportionality? - Held that: - there were large scale malpractices at the examination process and the State was entitled to take appropriate remedial action. In the context of the occurrence of such malpractice obviously there can be two classes of candidates: those who had resorted to malpractice and others who did not. By the impugned action, no doubt, all of them were treated alike. Whether such herding together would amount to the denial of the equal protection guaranteed under Article 14 is the question - Identifying all the candidates who are guilty of malpractice either by criminal prosecution or even by an administrative enquiry is certainly a time consuming process. If it were to be the requirement of law that such identification of the wrong doers is a must and only the identified wrongdoers be eliminated from the selection process, and until such identification is completed the process cannot be carried on, it would not only result in a great inconvenience to the administration, but also result in a loss of time even to the innocent candidates - it cannot be said that the impugned action is vitiated by lack of nexus with the object sought to be achieved by the State, by herding all the candidates at the examination together. Appeal dismissed - decided against appellant.
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