Panaji, October 8: The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Bombay High Court at Goa concerning the selection of a female Weightlifting Coach (Grade-IV) in the State of Goa, holding that the matter had been decided without hearing Vaishnavi S. Ugadekar, one of the two candidates competing for the post.

Allowing an appeal filed by Ugadekar, a Bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar restored the writ petition before the High Court and directed that the matter be heard afresh after impleading her as a party.

The dispute arose during the recruitment process for the post of Coach (Grade-IV) in Weightlifting. Ugadekar had raised concerns regarding the fairness of the selection process and lodged a complaint with the authorities. Following her complaint, the Goa Government directed that the selection tests be conducted again.

However, the other candidate challenged the government’s decision before the Bombay High Court at Goa. The High Court subsequently passed an order in the matter without making Ugadekar a party to the proceedings, although she was directly affected by the outcome.

Aggrieved by the decision, Ugadekar approached the Supreme Court, contending that the High Court had adjudicated the dispute without providing her an opportunity to present her case.

The Supreme Court took note of the fact that only two candidates were competing for the post and that Ugadekar, being directly concerned with the selection process, had not been impleaded or heard before the High Court passed its order.

The apex court consequently set aside the High Court’s order and restored the writ petition for fresh consideration on merits.

Importantly, the Supreme Court has not decided the validity of the selection process or the State Government’s decision to conduct fresh tests. Instead, it has directed the High Court to reconsider the dispute after hearing both competing candidates.

The Bench further directed that the interim order passed by the Supreme Court shall continue to operate during the pendency of the writ petition before the High Court.

Considering the nature of the recruitment dispute, the Supreme Court also requested the High Court to decide the matter at the earliest.

The apex court expressly clarified that the High Court must adjudicate the matter independently on its merits, without being influenced by its earlier decision or by the Supreme Court’s order setting it aside.

Advocate-on-Record Salvador Santosh Rebello appeared on behalf of Vaishnavi S. Ugadekar before the Supreme Court.

The ruling underscores the importance of providing an opportunity of hearing to candidates whose rights or interests may be directly affected by judicial proceedings involving public recruitment.

The matter will now return to the Bombay High Court at Goa for fresh adjudication, with both candidates being given an opportunity to present their respective cases.