Computer knowledge requirement in recruitment upheld where candidate joined process with full notice of the criterion.

Direct recruitment to the post required basic computer operation knowledge, and the advertisement, notifications and interview call letter consistently repeated that condition, including testing of Microsoft Operating System and Microsoft Office skills at interview. Because the candidate participated with full knowledge and raised no protest, the requirement was not a new benchmark introduced mid-process. The computer-knowledge assessment, conducted with expert assistance, was also held neither arbitrary nor unreasonable. The challenge to the selection process therefore failed, and the non-selection was sustained.

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Issues: Whether the appellant's non-selection on the ground of lack of basic knowledge of computer operation was invalid on the theory that a new benchmark had been introduced in the midst of the selection process.

Analysis: The governing service rules required a candidate for direct recruitment to possess basic knowledge of computer operation, and the advertisement and subsequent notifications reiterated that requirement. The interview call letter also made it clear that knowledge of Microsoft Operating System and Microsoft Office operation would be tested at interview. The appellant participated in the process with full knowledge of the requirement and without protest. In these circumstances, the requirement could not be treated as a midstream introduction of a new criterion, nor could the appellant challenge the process after having taken part in it. The Court also held that the test of computer knowledge, assessed with the assistance of an expert, was not arbitrary or unreasonable.

Conclusion: The challenge to the selection process failed, and the appellant's non-selection was upheld.

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