[Excise Constable Exam-2016] Allahabad High Court dismisses pleas challenging different PET criteria for men and women

In pleas challenging the different criteria set for men and women in the Physical Eligibility Test as notified for the Excise Constable (General Selection) Examination 2016, the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday observed that there was no arbitrariness in fixing different yardsticks in the selection process for male and female candidates.

Holding the arguments against different yardsticks baseless and unreasonable, the bench of Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery dismissed the two writ petitions. 

While tabling his decision, Justice Shamshery remarked that since in this examination females had succeeded in huge numbers, it appeared that unsuccessful male candidates were not able to cope with the fact that females had overnumbered them in merit. "It is an example of ‘male chauvinism’ which is unacceptable in the twenty-first century," he observed. 

The judge stated that even in international games such as Common Wealth Games, cricket, etc, different yardsticks are set for male and female categories.

"....difference of criteria of physical efficiency test is based on physical strength of a male and a female as in number of research papers it has come that in a normal situation male has more physical strength than her female counterpart. The argument to challenge criteria of female for physical efficiency test is not only without any legal basis but is also against women empowerment," said Justice Shamshery. 

He further emphasized that in the recruitment process, the petitioners had participated with open eyes, having complete knowledge of different criteria of physical efficiency test for males and females, however, when they anticipated likely to be unsuccessful in the final results, they approached the high court just before the declaration of the final results.

"Their act of turn around to question criteria of recruitment process is therefore impermissible," the judge held. 

Several male candidates belonging to the OBC category who participated in the recruitment process for the post of ‘Excise Constable’ conducted by the U.P. Subordinate Service Selection Board had approached the high court after the declaration of the final merit list on 15.03.2022. The Physical Efficiency Test was held from 16.2.2021 to 20.3.2021, and the result thereof was declared on 17.8.2021.

The petitioners challenged the criteria set for male and female candidates for the physical examination test alleging that the different yardsticks were fixed in a way that created maximum chances for the selection of female candidates.

They argued that the physical exam for female candidates had been made very easy in comparison to the exam for male candidates despite the fact that the merit was to be decided on the basis of physical test scores only.

According to their pleas, in the physical test of 60 marks, the race for men was 4.8 kilometers, long jump of 15 ft, 17 ft, 18 ft, and cricket ball throw was 61 meters (m), 63 m. and 65 m. whereas for female candidates the race was of 200 m, long jump was of 8 ft., 9.5 ft,10 ft, and cricket ball throw was kept at 12 m.,13 m. and 14 m. only.

Claiming that the provision of separate parameters for female and male candidates in physical examination by the commission was arbitrary, the petitioners had prayed the court to quash the result of the physical efficiency test.

Case Title: Pramod Kumar Singh and Others v. Union of India and Others