2 AP Candidates Dropped From PSC ‘Selection List’ After Mountain Ink Reported ‘Fraud’

Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission takes cognizance of the Mountain Ink report and blames “inadvertent” error for the selection of the candidates.

SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission has dropped the names of two candidates from the shortlisting list for the post of Assistant Professors in ‘biotechnology’.

The candidates Pankaj Sharad and Asif Amin were initially shortlisted but after Mountain Ink reported that the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission selection list reeks of fraud, the names were dropped. The commission said that it was, however, an “inadvertent” error.

A notification issued by the JKPSC said that the names of Sharad and Amin (OM Candidates) shall and shall always be deemed to have been deleted ab-initio from the Shortlisting Notice issued under endorsement No.PSC/DR/APBio-Technology/HE/2019 dated 05.08.2021 and the interview notice dated 11.09.2021 for the post of Assistant Professor.

Mountain Ink had reported that three candidates, Pankaj Sharad from Hiranagar Jammu, Asif Amin from Karan Nagar Srinagar, and Usha Kiran from Jammu, were called in for the interview, even though their aggregate points were less than the cut-off points as declared by the PSC.

The latest PSC notification said that all the three candidates failed to submit their JRF certificates and after verification, it was found that they were awarded three points for JRF “inadvertently” and due to this, the points of two OM category candidates, Pankaj Sharad and Asif Amin, got raised above the cut-off merit.

The cut-off for OM was 34.92 and Pankaj Sharad had scored 32.68 while Asif Amin had scored 33.64. 

“In order to verify the report, the candidates were asked to present their JRF certificates within two days. The candidates were asked to submit their JRF Certificates failing which it will be presumed that they do not possess the JRF certificates.”

However, the commission said that Usha Kiran, SC candidate, “was still within the cut of merit even without JRF points”, but as per the “ANNEXURE A” to the notification number 84 – PSC (DR-S) of 2021 issued on November 3, 2021, Usha Kiran had scored 24.16 while the cut off for SC was 26.16.

Meanwhile, many candidates have also contacted Mountain Ink and raised objections on the JKPSC selection list.

Insha Zahoor, a candidate who had qualified for the interview process, said that she was a gold medalist and even her interview went good. Insha also had publications, books, conferences and despite that, she was not selected. She said that just because she did not have political connections, she was not selected. “This is the height of injustice happening in PSC.”

Another person, Bashir Ahmad, who did not mention whether he was a candidate or not, told Mountain Ink through an email that candidates who were selected were given points for post-doc experience despite them having less than one year of experience. “A candidate must have a minimum of one year of post-doc experience, but some candidates selected in the list have less than one year experience and yet they were awarded three points,” he added.