A bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising of Justice H.L.Dattu and Justice M.B.Lokur will on Friday November 22nd hear the Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the appointment of Kurupati Dwarkanath Row, a relative of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar as the Chairman of Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC).
Coincidentally, a bench comprising of Justice M.B.Lokur along with Justice A.K.Patnaik had on 15th February this year upheld the decision of the Punjab High Court quashing the appointment of the Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission as there was no deliberative process worth the name in making that appointment. The appointment of Kurupati Dwarkanath Row as Chairman of GPSC is unconstitutional, illegal & void as the appointment was arbitrary, there being no system for selection, without any selection committee, with no criteria or evaluation and without any transparency. The entire selection and appointment of Kurapati Dwarakanath Row, a relative of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, as Chairman Goa Public Service Commission, was done in a tearing hurry with the process completed in a mere six days. The entire lightning speed process of the appointment smacks of arbitrariness, favoritism and nepotism, and is liable to be set aside. Kurupati Dwarkanath Row’s selection as Chairman of the GPSC being solely on the recommendation of the Chief Minister, is very arbitrary and malafide to favour his own relative, while throwing to the wind all the norms and guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for the appointment to the high Constitutional post of Chairman of the Public Service Commission. As per Article 316 (1) of the Constitution of India, the minimum requirement for the post of Chairman of GPSC was experience of ten years under the Govt of India or the State Govt. The experience of Kurupati Dwarkanath Row was with a Govt company Air India, and not experience under the State Govt or the Govt of India as was required. The appointment of Kurupati Dwarkanath Row as Chairman of GPSC be quashed was grossly malafide and a fraud on the Constitution of India, as the selection was not an informed process of decision-making in as much as the State Government had not collected information and material on whether Kurupati Dwarkanath Row had the experience, ability and character to be appointed as the Chairman of GPSC while also not having considered other persons who would have qualified for the position. As per the file notings obtained under the Right to Information Act a note was moved by the Personnel department at the Secretariat on 27th February this year that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had recommended and suggested the name of Kurapati Dwarakanath Row for the post of Chairman of Goa Public Service Commission. The note was approved by the Under Secretary, Additional Secretary, Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister on the same day. The proposal was also approved by the Cabinet meeting held on that very same day. The Chief Minister on the next day sent the file for the Governor’s approval. With Governor B. V. Wanchoo giving his approval on the very following day, the Personnel department swiftly issued the notification on 4th March appointing Kurapati Dwarakanath Row as the Chairman of the Goa State Public Service Commission. Incidentally 4th March was Kurapati Dwarakanath Row’s birthday. The records reveal that the Government did not consider any other name besides Kurapati Dwarakanath Row for the post of GPSC Chairman and that neither was a back ground check conducted on the antecedents of Kurapati Dwarakanath Row, a former staff of Air India. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372
