Common written test results valid only for subsequent financial year, says IBPS

The Institute of Banking Personnel and Selection (IBPS) has said that results of the common written examination conducted by it during a year are valid only for the subsequent financial year, and not in perpetuity.

The point was articulated in a ‘limited affidavit’ filed by it in the Bombay High Court in response to a writ petition by officer candidates in the reserve list for 2016-17 seeking allotment to ‘non-joining’ vacancies.

The petitioners had contended that IBPS should have allotted the reserve candidates against vacancies arising on account of candidates in the merit list not taking up their appointments.

But there can be no such compulsion, the affidavit said.

The decision whether or not to allot candidates from the reserve list is to be taken by participating banks alone.

In the present case, the concerned banks were not able to, or did not desire to fill all vacancies existing at the end of the financial year.

The validity of the score card automatically had expired on March 31, 2017. Hence, the petitioners cannot claim any relief in respect of the scores obtained by them in the written examination for 2016-17. The common recruitment is an independent process for filling up of reported vacancies for a specific period. On completion of the prescribed period, the common selection process gets completed and the process is closed.

IBPS is a mere test-conducting agency; it neither creates nor fills vacancies in the participating banks. The decision whether or not to allot candidates from the reserve list is to be taken by the latter alone.

Therefore, it is only bound by the number of vacancies reported by the participating banks in advance for the following financial year. The banks have envisaged such a scheme to ensure a level playing field.

With the allotment of merit-listed candidates against reported vacancies, the common recruitment selection process was over by March 31, 2017. Hence, the question of granting any remedy to the petitioners does not arise.

The IBPS said that a reserve list to the extent of approximately 10 per cent of the vacancies under each category is usually kept, subject to availability of candidates.

But this does not guarantee provisional allotment to/recruitment by participating banks. The subject of the petition is the common written examination for recruitment of probationary officers for 2016-17.

Since the entire recruitment process for that year was complete on March 31, 2017, the petition had become infructuous.

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