HC issues notice to JKPSC over plea against civil judge selection process

Srinagar, Feb 18: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) on a plea seeking to scrap the selection process for 42 posts of Civil Judges (Junior Division) in the Subordinate Judiciary undertaken by the JKPSC in pursuance to notification issued on May 14, 2025.

A division bench of Justices Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem issued the notice to JKPSC which on asking was accepted by Commissionís standing counsel, advocate Shah Amir.

Advocate Aamir has to file a reply within two weeks.

The court, after considering the urgency projected in view of the scheduled interviews, listed the matter for further consideration on March 2.

The JKPSC conducted the preliminary examination for the 42 posts of the Civil Judge on September 28, 2025, at designated centres at Jammu and Srinagar. The result of the preliminary examination was declared vide notification dated October 13, 2025, whereby as many as 1016 candidates were declared qualified for the J&K Civil service (Judicial) Mains examination 2025.

The result of the Main Examination was declared vide notification dated January 20, 2026 whereby out of 1016 competing candidates 124 candidates were declared to have qualified for the interview.

As many as 25 candidates have petitioned court, assailing the Notification No PSC/Exam/S/2026/03 dated January 20, 2026, whereby the JKPSC declared the result of the Main Examination.

In their plea the candidates have sought quashing of the entire selection process, including the January 20 result notification, alleging that the evaluation and shortlisting were conducted dehors the prescribed norms under the Public Service (Conduct of Examination) Rules, 2022, and the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service (Judicial) Recruitment Rules, 1967.

They contend that the selection process was vitiated by ìstatutory invalidityî and violates the constitutional guarantees of equality and equal opportunity in public employment under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

The aggrieved candidatesí plea underscores that ìan entire block of 106 candidates including most of petitioners placed consecutively at serial no 144 to 249 (Roll Nos 7900590 to 7901004) all of whom appeared in examination centre Srinagar (Hall No 1 and Hall No 2) have been mechanically and en masse declared failed in the mains examination, inheriting a circumstance so glaring egregious and indefensible that strikes at the very root of the sanctity of the selection processî.

ìHad the respondent No 4 (JKPSC) scrupulously followed the mandatory protocol of mixing and randomisation of answer scripts for the process of evaluation and marking as mandatorily prescribed under PSC Examination Rule 2022 in particular Rule 35 (Physical) and Rule 37 (Digital) thereof, the emergence of such a consecutive and wholesale failure would have been impossible,î the aggrieved candidates said.

They claimed that the same ìestablishes beyond a cavil of doubt that there has not been uniformity and consistency in the evaluation of the answer scriptsî.

The candidates have also challenged the interview notice issued by the commission, fixing February 17, for commencement of viva-voce, and sought urgent listing of the matter, submitting that any delay would render the petition infructuous.

Relying on various judgments of the Supreme Court, the candidates submitted that absence of moderation in evaluation leads to ìexaminer variabilityî or the ìhawk-dove effect,î resulting in disparity in marking by strict and liberal examiners.

The aggrieved candidatesí further contention is that failure to adopt a proper moderation process undermines uniformity and consistency in valuation of answer scripts.

They seek courtís intervention to quash the result notification and the selection process and to restrain the authorities from proceeding further with the interviews, and a direction to undertake the selection afresh in strict compliance with the applicable examination rules.

They also call for redrawing of the category-wise select list in accordance with inter se merit after proper evaluation and moderation.