TNPSC chief refutes charges

CHENNAI: TN Public Service Commission (TNPSC) chairman R Sellamuthu has refuted all the charges levelled against him with regard to the appointments made during the recent past.In his counter-affidavit filed in the Madras High Court on Thursday in response to a writ plea from advocate R Krishnamurthy of Manali, which prayed for a direction to cancel all the direct recruitments made, Sellamuthu submitted that in the entire procedure for selection of candidates, the Commission  worked only as a comprehensive body and all the decisions were taken and the resolutions were passed collectively and no member or the chairman could decide anything in his individual capacity. Further, the writ petition was not maintainable, as it was based merely on news reports. The valuation process was in the total domain of the Controller of Examinations and conduct of oral test and custody of all connected secret sensitive information was vested with the commission’s secretary. He had not changed or deviated from the procedure prescribed.Hence, the allegation that only during his period the selection and recruitment was conducted not in accordance with law was baseless, Sellamuthu added, and sought to vacate an earlier interim order dated October 29 this year, by which the first bench comprising Chief Justice MY Eqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam expressed its willingness to monitor the entire investigation that should be conducted by the DVAC.