HC directs TS to submit report on TSPSC members appointment

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday directed the Telangana government to provide comprehensive information pertaining to the appointment of the six members to the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC), including the number of applications/bio data received from eligible candidates, the number of applications shortlisted, and whether any sub-committee comprised of Cabinet ministers.

Hearing a petition against the appointment of the six members, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy directed Advocate General B.S. Prasad to provide the comprehensive information by the next hearing on November 28.

It should be noted that a petition was filed against the appointment of the six members to the TSPC, claiming that their appointment was in direct violation of TSPSC Regulations 3(2)(a) and 3(2)(b). Regulation 3(1) of the Regulations states that all TSPSC members should be eminent individuals of high calibre and competence, but the government appointed these members in violation of the regulations and at its discretion.

Earlier, the court ordered the AG to provide the record of the procedure for appointing the said members. The AG provided the court with the report on TSPSC member appointments in sealed cover, as directed by the court. After reviewing the confidential report provided by the AG, the Bench inquired about the notification issued to fill the positions and the procedure followed. Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan stated, "We are all members of the public. We want a robust Public Service Commission."

Senior counsel Sudharshan Reddy, who is representing R. Satyanarayana, one of the TSPSC's six members, informed the HC that he is a newspaper reporter and publisher who has published three books on the environment and its impact on villages and agriculture. The senior counsel also informed the court that Satyanarayana had conducted some environmental and water research.

On an earlier hearing, the counsel for the petitioner brought to the court's attention that a scribe working at the district level had been appointed as a TSPSC member, and he had raised concerns about how a reporter working at the district level could participate in the selection process of officers working at the state level. In light of this, Satyanarayana's counsel presented his case to the court on Monday.

Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, on the other hand, questioned whether Satyanarayana had applied to the government for the position of member or not. "Why did the government choose only Satyanarayana for the post when there are so many other eminent persons in this field?" asked the court.