PIL Seeking to Ban Campus Recruitments Made by PSUs Dismissed.

In the case of M. Palanimuthu v. The Secretary to the Government, decided on 7^th September 2015 by the Madras High Court presided by the Division bench of Chief Justice S. K. Kaul and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, the Court dismissed the PIL seeking to ban campus recruitments and restrain the Central and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) from taking part in campus interviews. The bench held that, given the current climate of competition, the process of campus recruitment is not arbitrary and observed that the practice of campus recruitments has been in existence for over a decade with no complaints being made against it. In the instant case, the petitioner while filing the PIL stated that there are thousands of Graduate and Post Graduate students waiting for employment, and have got themselves registered in the Government Employment Exchanges. In response to it the respondents raised questions on the maintainability of the petition contending that, campus interviews are a supplement to the selection process of suitable candidates via All India Written Examinations, and not a substitute to it. On perusal of the contentions, the Court agreed with the stand taken by the respondent that in the present age where the PSUs are in constant competition with the multinational companies, the time tested method of campus recruitments is highly feasible where they can get the talent from the pool (respective institutions) itself. The Court further added that “catch them early” as the underlying principle behind campus recruitment’s is not arbitrary and does not infringe any Constitutional guarantees.