Kollam: Nisha Balakrishnan’s dreams of a government job now lie shattered even though she had qualified in a recruitment test conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).
She had a place in the rank list, but as per the procedure, the vacancy that would have landed her the job was notified, but at the last moment!
The much-berated cruel mentality of some government officers came to the fore in Nisha's case.
The vacancy which could have been filled by Nisha was reported by the public recruiter at midnight on the very day the validity of the rank-list ended.
How come so even though government offices are supposed to function only till 5 pm?
Nisha (37), a native of Chavara in Kollam, stood 696 in the ranklist to appoint Lower Division (LD) Clerks in various departments in Ernakulam distrct. Nisha and other rank-holders had pleaded with officials to get vacancies reported to the PSC. Subsequently, many of them received postings.
However, an officer at Urban Affairs Directorate in Thiruvananthapuram was reportedly not pleased over the enthusiasm displayed by Nisha and other candidates. This officer displayed his displeasure on the last day of the validity of the rank-list when Nisha’s turn came for appointment.
On March 28, 2018 – three days before the validity ended – Nisha and others got a vacancy at Cochin Corporation office reported to the Urban Affairs Directorate in Thiruvananthapuram. They also met the officer concerned and requested him to inform PSC about the vacancy.
March 29 and 30 were public holidays. On March 31, Nisha called the officer over phone several times and pleaded with him to report the vacancy at least before evening.
However, the officer deliberately reported the vacancy to District PSC Office, Ernakulam, exactly at midnight by e-mail and it was received at the PSC office four seconds after 12 am.
The PSC refused appointment to Nisha pointing out that the validity of the rank-list had ended at midnight. Even though Nisha approached the court, it did not intervene citing that a new rank-list had come into effect.
Nisha is now age over for a government job and has submitted a review petition before the High Court. Incidentally, the officer at the Urban Affairs Directorate in Thiruvananthapuram is facing no questions over why he reported a vacancy at midnight.