IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Writ Petition No. 168 of 2009 (S/B) Ahmad Jamal Rasul. .……… Petitioner Versus Union of India & others. .………. Respondents. Mr. R.C. Upadhyaya, Advocate for the petitioner. None for the respondents. JUDGMENT Coram: Hon’ble Barin Ghosh, C.J. Hon’ble V.K. Bist, J. BARIN GHOSH, C. J. (Oral) Petitioner was the Presiding Officer of the Selection Board, which was conducting pre-selection test of people for ascertaining suitability for being engaged in Indian Missions abroad. In course of such test, persons seeking to be selected were required to, amongst others, undertake a race of 10 kms. 142 persons expressed intention to undergo such test. They were tested. 18 of them became sick while participating in the 10 kms. race and 4 of them died. Petitioner, who was the Presiding Officer of the Selection Board, did not take any effective step to prevent such deaths. He did not show any remorse. He did not visit the hospital, where they were taken. For this conduct on the part of the petitioner, by a letter dated 25th October, 2005 / 3rd November, 2005, a displeasure with caution was conveyed to him with an information that the same will be incorporated in his A.C.R. Petitioner is before us in that view of the matter. 2. It is not in dispute that the petitioner was the Presiding Officer of the Selection Board and the said Board was conducting a 10 kms. race in course of pre-selection test for postings at Indian Missions aboard. It is also not in dispute that 4 persons died while participating in the said race. At the same time, there is also no dispute that the petitioner did not bother to visit the hospital, where those 4 persons were admitted and later declared dead. The petitioner is also not disputing that he did not go to 2 the hospital, where the other 14 people, who became sick while participating in the said race, were admitted. In that view of the matter, the decision taken to convey displeasure, we think, is not interferable. 3. We, accordingly, dismiss the writ petition. 4. Before, however, we part, it is our duty to point out that the papers brought on record do not suggest that all 142 persons raced at a time. Those papers do not suggest how many batches were made of those 142 persons to participate in the race. It has also not been brought on record as to how many persons, in different batches, became sick and who belonged to which batch who died. In the event, the first batch was comprised of 10 persons and one from the said batch fell, but no action was taken to stop the test through such race, the matter is so serious that severe actions ought to have had been taken. However, in the absence of materials deliberately not placed before us, we are not in a position to do anything further. We close the matter thus. (V.K. Bist, J.) (Barin Ghosh, C. J.) 08.09.2010 08.09.2010 G