In a significant relief to thousands of aspirants, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed Sardar Patel University, Mandi, to release the results of the Junior Office Assistant (IT) examination conducted in October 2022. The results had been withheld for nearly two years, pending a clearance from the state government.
The order was passed on September 15 by Justice Sandeep Sharma while disposing of a petition filed by Nirmala Devi, who had sought completion of the recruitment process for 25 contractual posts of JOA (IT).
The university had advertised the posts on September 7, 2022, and conducted the written examination on October 20, 2022. A total of 7,640 candidates had applied, and the result had already been prepared. However, it was kept in abeyance following a December 2022 communication from the state government, which sought time “enabling competent authority to take final decision.”
During the court proceedings, the communication issued under the signature of the under secretary (education) to the state government was placed on record. Observing that further delay was unwarranted, the court directed the university to go ahead and publish the examination results.
The ruling clears the way for the long-pending recruitment process to move forward, bringing relief to thousands of candidates who had been left in uncertainty since 2022.
