In Brief
This case involved sixty-four persons selected as drug inspectors in Jammu & Kashmir in 2009. Unsuccessful candidates challenged the selection before the High Court, claiming procedural defects: missing individual award rolls, an allegedly unqualified expert member, and arbitrarily high viva-voce marks. The High Court quashed the entire selection. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that courts cannot second-guess expert Selection Committees absent proven mala fides or statutory violations. Unsuccessful candidates who participated without protest cannot later challenge the process. Non-availability of individually signed award rolls—where the final list was Board-approved—does not vitiate selection. The expert (a pharmacologist with MD/Ph.D.) was appropriately qualified. The Court affirmed the 2009 selection and rejected directions to conduct fresh interviews or accommodate unsuccessful candidates.
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