Dr. PRITHVI RAJ vs CHAIRMAN SINDH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, HYDERABAD Regln

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Dr. PRITHVI RAJ VS CHAIRMAN SINDH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, HYDERABAD Regln.161---Constitution of Pakistan, Art.199---Recruitment of medical officers---Urban, rural and minority quotas---Different benchmarks / cut-off marks applied for each quota as per quota allocation---Petitioner failing to meet prescribed criterion of his quota--Alternate and statutory remedy of appeal, non-availing of---The issue in the present Constitutional petition concerned the recruitment process of Medical Officers (BPS-17) by the Sindh Public Service Commission (the "SPSC") where the petitioner having secured 39 marks under the rural minority quota was declared unsuccessful despite candidates from the urban quota with lower marks being shortlisted for interviews---The controversy thus revolved around the alleged discriminatory and inconsistent application of cut-off marks, non-publication of complete results, and violation of the principles of equality, fair play, and recruitment policy---Question for determination before the High Court was as to "Whether the Sindh Public Service Commission acted illegally and discriminatorily by applying inconsistent cut-off marks across different quotas, thereby excluding the petitioner despite securing higher marks than candidates shortlisted from another quota, in violation of recruitment rules and constitutional guarantees of equality and fair treatment?"---Held: It was an admitted position that the SPSC conducted the written test in accordance with Consolidated Advertisement No. 05/2024 and thereafter announced the result for 2,178 candidates, bifurcated under urban, rural and minority quotas---The petitioner, having secured 39 marks against the rural minority quota, fell one mark short of the cut-off of 40 marks, whereas successful candidates under the urban quota, who secured 33 marks, were evaluated against a different quota and cut-off; thus, there was no dispute that the petitioner did not meet the prescribed criterion for his own quota and the SPSC had applied a uniform, transparent procedure to all candidates within each quota---The 'quotas' by their very nature contemplated different benchmarks to ensure representation from under-served areas or communities and they did not amount to unequal treatment but rather to positive measures consistent with Arts. 25 and 27 of the Constitution---Moreover, the Sindh Public Service Commission (Recruitment Management) Regulations, 2023, expressly provided under Regln. 161 a mechanism for representation and appeal against any alleged error in result publication---The petitioner's failure to avail this efficacious statutory remedy, prior to invoking High Court's jurisdiction, constituted a bar under settled jurisprudence which required exhausting alternative remedies before approaching constitutional jurisdiction---Petitioner failed to demonstrate any violation of recruitment policy and also failed to show that he was treated differently from other similarly placed candidates within the same quota to that of the petitioner---As such, the claim of the petitioner appeared to be without merit and could not be entertained by the High Court in the absence of exhausting the statutory appeal under Regln. 161 of the 2023 Regulations---Consequently, present petition being devoid of merits were dismissed, in circumstances.

Dr. PRITHVI RAJ vs CHAIRMAN SINDH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, HYDERABAD Regln — 2025 PLC(CS) 1434 KARACHI-HIGH-COURT-SINDH

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