Chandigarh, Sept. 23 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has held that a candidate can't be awarded zero marks in an interview, if he has qualified for a post on other parameters laid down in an advertisement.

"Such an exercise defeats the very purpose of prescribing a composite, merit-based selection, and is manifestly inconsistent with the settled position that a recruiting authority must adhere to the criteria and procedure declared by it in the advertisement. The impugned action of the selection committee is thus vulnerable not merely on the ground of an irrational assessment, but on the more fundamental ground of jurisdictional transgression," the bench of justice HS Brar said.

The court was dealing with a petition by Jasbir Singh...