P&H: Candidates were almost equal on merits and Collector exercised discretion in appointment, Financial Commissioner should not have interfered
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the Financial Commissioner’s order in a dispute over the appointment of Lambardar of Village Bullewal in Gurdaspur district and restored the Collector’s decision appointing Wassan Singh.
The case arose after the District Collector, Gurdaspur appointed the petitioner as Lambardar on 26 July 2017. The rival candidate challenged the appointment, but the Commissioner dismissed the appeal on 16 November 2020.
The matter then reached the Financial Commissioner, who reversed both orders and appointed Mukhwant Singh instead. The Financial Commissioner reasoned that the Collector had not properly assessed the comparative merits of the...
