Chandigarh, Jan. 22 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled that unless empowered by a statutory framework, a public service commission cannot embark upon character verification, antecedent inquiry, confirmation of credentials or adjudication of document validity, while discharging its constitutional or statutory duty of selection and recommendation and that the same remains within exclusive authority of the appointing authority/employer.

"Commission is a constitutional authority with a limited mandate and its core function is to complete the selection process i.e., conduct examination, declare results and make recommendations. The Commission cannot act as an adjudicatory authority on disputed questions of eligibility or experienc...