Sujatha A. vs Kerala Public Service Commission and The District Officer

P.N. Ravindran, J.—The petitioner was an applicant for appointment to the post of Cashier-cum-Clerk in the Kottayam District Co-operative Bank. Though she appeared for the written test held on 10.5.2008 her answer script was not valued for the reason that alpha code of the question paper booklet was not entered in the answer paper booklet. She thereupon filed Ext.P2 representation before the District Officer of the Kerala Public Service Commission, Kottayam requesting that officer to have her answer script valued. This writ petition was thereupon filed seeking the following reliefs.

(i) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, commanding and compelling the 1st respondent to consider and dispose of Ext.P2 in accordance with law.

(ii) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, commanding the respondents to value the answer script to the petitioner which she wrote pursuant to Ext.P1.

(iii) To declare that the non-bubbling of the alpha code in the answer book is only a curable defect and that the respondents are bound to afford an opportunity to the petitioner to correct the defect and then value the answer book.

A learned Single Judgment of this Court has in W.P.(C) No. 29243 of 2004 held in similar circumstances where the candidate had not darkened the bubbles in the OMR answer script showing the code of the question paper booklet, that the Commission was right in invalidating the answer script. It was held that as the petitioner did not comply with the instructions issued by the Kerala Public Service Commission by entering the code number of the question paper booklet in the appropriate place provided in the answer script, the Commission was not bound to value his answer script. In W.P.(C) No. 34380 of 2008, where the register number was incorrectly entered another learned Single Judge of this Court held that as the instructions issued by the Kerala Public Service Commission have not been complied with and the register number was incorrectly entered, the answer script was rightly invalidated.

In the instant case, the petitioner admits that she did not enter the alpha code of the question paper booklet in the answer script. The Commission was therefore justified in invalidating her answer script. The Commission has given instructions on the reverse of the hall ticket and also in the general instructions issued at the time of the written test alerting the candidates about the need and necessity to enter the alpha code of the question paper booklet in their respective answer scripts. The said defect is not a curable defect and the candidate is bound to scrupulously comply with the same. The failure to comply with the instructions issued by the Kerala Public Service Commission regarding entering of the alpha code of the question paper booklet can only be at the peril of the candidate. I therefore find no grounds to entertain this writ petition.

The writ petition fails and is accordingly dismissed.