Patna, May 19: A dogged three-year legal battle for five marks has finally paid dividends for an education officer, whose name the high court today ordered should be recommended for the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS).

Krishna Kumar Yadav, at present posted as a sub-divisional education officer in Aurangabad, had cleared the state civil services exam in 2004, the result of which was published the following year. Based on the marks obtained — 856 — Yadav was allotted the Bihar Education Service, which is lower in the pecking order than the Bihar Administrative Service. The cut-off for entrance to the more coveted BAS was 860 that year. Six months later, Yadav received the marksheet from the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), which conducts the exam, and to his surprise found that there was an error in the tabulation of scores. The marks added up to 861, five more than what had been given to him and, more important, it made him eligible for the BAS.

Yadav approached Patna High Court, seeking a direction to the commission to recommend his name for the administrative service by rectifying the anomaly in tabulation.

A bench of Justice Sheema Ali Khan today upheld Yadav’s contention and said he has to be recommended for the BAS. “Under the circumstances, the Bihar Public Service Commission may send the recommendation (as per Annexure-B) to the state government by June 30, 2011. The state on receipt of the said recommendation should pass appropriate orders by August 1, 2011,” the court said.

During the course of hearing, the commission filed a counter-affidavit accepting its fault and apprised the court that it had recommended Yadav’s name for the administrative service. But, the commission said, it was for the general administration (formerly personnel) department of the state government to appoint him to the BAS.

The state government, in its affidavit that was filed on the court’s orders, submitted that it could take a step in this direction only when the commission recommended his name for the service.

Yadav had told the court that he had filed a representation to the BPSC chairman and secretary to rectify the anomaly in marks tabulation, but the commission did not pay any heed to his complaint.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Dilip Kumar Roy submitted that Yadav had invoked the Right to Information to know the actual marks he had secured and also the cut-off marks for getting into the administrative service.

Roy contended that since BPSC had accepted its fault, the state government should not delay allotting Yadav the administrative service.

The court posted the matter for hearing on August 8 when it has asked for a compliance report.