‘You will have to prove you don’t have two wives’: Punjab & Haryana HC denies relief to judiciary candidate who mistakenly declared ‘more than wife’ in application
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday (16th September) denied relief to a judiciary candidate, who by mistake declared in his application form that he has more than one wife. According to Bar and Bench, the candidature of the petitioner, Advocate Pradeep Kumar, was rejected after he mistakenly declared in the application for the post of Additional District & Sessions Judge in Haryana Superior Judicial Service, that he has more than one wife. The notification for the said posts said that a candidate with more than one spouse is not eligible for the district judiciary service. The application form had two columns of ‘yes’ and ‘no’, which the candidates were required to mark in response to whether they had more than one wife. While filling out the form, the petitioner mistakenly marked the column ‘yes’ in his response, which resulted in the rejection of his candidature. He challenged the rejection of his candidature before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, a division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry rejected his plea, saying that the petition was responsible for entering the wrong information in the form. “You yourself state that you have two wives. How do they know whether you have one wife or two wives or three wives? It is for you to declare. If you declare it wrongly, then what is their fault in cancelling your candidature?” the CJ remarked. The petitioner requested relief from the court, saying that the mistake was inadvertent and that there was still time in the examination, which is scheduled to be held on 19th September. However, the counsel appearing for the High Court pointed out that the recruitment notification clearly stated that no request for any change in the application form would be entertained at a later stage and that the candidates would be responsible for any mistakes in the form. After hearing the submissions of both sides, the High Court observed that the candidate himself had entered the wrong information and that he would have to prove otherwise. “You will have to give proof that you don’t have two wives. How do you do that?” the Court questioned. “A candidate has to be extremely careful and vigilant while filing his application form, and the slightest of mistakes can entail cancellation of his candidature. In competitive exams, it is extremely important to adhere to the timelines and no process can be stalled or delayed due to an inadvertent mistake of any candidate…In view of the above and the law laid down by the apex court… this Court cannot help the petitioner and the present petition stands dismissed,” the High Court said, dismissing his petition. The High Court refused to accept the petitioner’s argument that he mentioned the name of his wife in the application form, and therefore, it should be presumed that he has only one wife.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday (16th September) denied relief to a judiciary candidate, who by mistake declared in his application form that he has more than one wife. According to Bar and Bench, the candidature of the petitioner, Advocate Pradeep Kumar, was rejected after he mistakenly declared in the application for the post of Additional District & Sessions Judge in Haryana Superior Judicial Service, that he has more than one wife.
The notification for the said posts said that a candidate with more than one spouse is not eligible for the district judiciary service. The application form had two columns of ‘yes’ and ‘no’, which the candidates were required to mark in response to whether they had more than one wife. While filling out the form, the petitioner mistakenly marked the column ‘yes’ in his response, which resulted in the rejection of his candidature.
He challenged the rejection of his candidature before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, a division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry rejected his plea, saying that the petition was responsible for entering the wrong information in the form. “You yourself state that you have two wives. How do they know whether you have one wife or two wives or three wives? It is for you to declare. If you declare it wrongly, then what is their fault in cancelling your candidature?” the CJ remarked.
The petitioner requested relief from the court, saying that the mistake was inadvertent and that there was still time in the examination, which is scheduled to be held on 19th September. However, the counsel appearing for the High Court pointed out that the recruitment notification clearly stated that no request for any change in the application form would be entertained at a later stage and that the candidates would be responsible for any mistakes in the form.
After hearing the submissions of both sides, the High Court observed that the candidate himself had entered the wrong information and that he would have to prove otherwise. “You will have to give proof that you don’t have two wives. How do you do that?” the Court questioned.
“A candidate has to be extremely careful and vigilant while filing his application form, and the slightest of mistakes can entail cancellation of his candidature. In competitive exams, it is extremely important to adhere to the timelines and no process can be stalled or delayed due to an inadvertent mistake of any candidate…In view of the above and the law laid down by the apex court… this Court cannot help the petitioner and the present petition stands dismissed,” the High Court said, dismissing his petition.
The High Court refused to accept the petitioner’s argument that he mentioned the name of his wife in the application form, and therefore, it should be presumed that he has only one wife.
