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Ajithkumar P. & Ors. v. Remin K.R. & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8536 of 2015)Decided 13 Oct 2015
Civil Appeal No. 8536 of 2015
Justice J. Chelameswar · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

The Kerala Public Service Commission advertised Sub-Inspector posts in 2007 and received about 42,000 applications. To manage the numbers, it held a preliminary screening test, shortlisted the top 2,000 candidates, and then relaxed the cut-off marks for reserved-category candidates so that 657 more could sit the main examination. The appellants, reserved-category candidates, were later appointed against open-category (general) posts, and rival candidates challenged this on the ground that they had got in only because of the relaxation.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment, which had backed the rival candidates. It held that the preliminary screening test had no basis in Kerala's service rules, so the rules on "ranked lists" that the High Court relied on did not apply to the shortlisting stage. The Court followed earlier decisions (R.K. Sabharwal and Ritesh R. Sah) holding that a reserved-category candidate who is selected on merit must be treated as a general candidate and cannot be pushed into reserved posts. A concession given only at the preliminary stage, which did not affect the final merit ranking, could not take away that merit. The appeals were allowed with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

A candidate who performs well enough on merit in the main examination is entitled to be considered for general posts, even if he was allowed into that exam through a relaxation at an earlier stage. Recruiting bodies must follow the rules they have actually framed, not invent extra screening stages without legal basis.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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