MUZAFFARABAD, Feb 29: Fallacy about the transparency of recruitment through the Public Service Commission (PSC) in Azad Kashmir was exposed here on Friday after the region’s high court came to know through the record it took into custody that the institution had deprived the topper of last year’s exams for the posts of assistant commissioner of his right to favour someone much below in merit than him.

It all happened during the hearing of a petition filed by senior lawyer Mushtaq Janjua on behalf of his brother Nadeem Ahmed, seeking direction from the bench, headed by acting Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Nawaz Khan, to the PSC to disclose his results.

Nadeem Ahmed, a law graduate who also earned master degrees in political science and history, had appeared in the PSC exam for the two posts of assistant commissioner and one post of section officer falling in the quota of Muzaffarabad district in mid 2007. However when the PSC issued a handout of the successful candidates in written exams, it carried only three names — Tahir Mumtaz, Badar Munir and Mohammad Sarfraz Awan.

Initially Mr Janjua assumed that his brother, who had earlier also qualified a PSC exam, might not have been able to do well this time round, however, he soon grew suspicious about the transparency of the results. He therefore moved an application in the PSC for provision of the result of his brother but was denied the same under the so-called secrecy policy.

The denial compelled Mr Janjua to file a petition with the high court on January 14 on behalf of his brother, contending that he believed that Nadeem Ahmed had qualified the written test but as the PSC was reluctant to provide him his result, a direction should be passed to the institution to provide the same at the earliest.

The court summoned the PSC officials along with the relevant record on February 13 but they sought a respite which was granted by the learned judge who fixed February 27 as the next date.

However, when the PSC did not present record on February 27, the acting chief justice directed it to bring all relevant record after two days.

On Friday, when a director of PSC showed the secret result to the learned judge, it transpired that Ahmed had secured 88.8 per cent marks in the written tests while Mumtaz and Munir had clinched 68 and 58 per cent marks, respectively. But both of them were recommended for the posts of assistant commissioner.

When the learned judge asked the PSC official as to why the petitioner’s result was not announced, he replied that his application did not carry domicile certificate. But when questioned that why the application had been entertained in the first place and petitioner was communicated to appear in the written exam, the official had no plausible explanation.

He admitted that no candidate could sit in the exams if his application lacked any required testimonials.

The PSC official however informed the court that the other two candidates had been appointed by the government as ACs and directed to report to the Civil Services Academy Lahore for the mandatory training.

Taking strong exception to this the acting CJ remarked: “It is ironical that the topper is undergoing treatment (from a psychiatrist) but those inferior to him (in merit) are undergoing training (in the Civil Services Academy).”

Interestingly, Ahmed had also qualified another PSC exam for the post of ASP (assistant superintendent of police) in August 2005 and had also appeared in the subsequent interview. But his result was not declared by the PSC at that time as well.

Mr Janjua had filed a petition in the high court against it in December 2005 which was being heard by Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal.

The acting chief justice summoned Janjua’s earlier petition from Justice Mughal and clubbed it with the fresh one, and fixed March 3 as the next date of hearing.

The PSC was asked to file its comments by then.

Talking to Dawn outside the courtroom, Mr Janjua said he would file a revised petition on the basis of the facts that came to the fore from the PSC record.