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Amrit Yadav v. State of Jharkhand and Others

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 176Decided 10 Feb 2025
C.A. No.-013950-013951 of 2024 (with connected C.A. Nos. 13952, 13953, 13954, 13955 of 2024)
Justice Pankaj Mithal · Justice Sandeep Mehta

Background

In 2010, the Deputy Commissioner of Palamu district (Jharkhand) advertised Class-IV government posts. An examination was held in 2017, and the appellant was among those appointed in 2018 after a counselling round. Non-selected candidates challenged the process, alleging the State had unfairly introduced an interview/counselling stage not mentioned in the original advertisement. The High Court ordered a fresh merit panel based only on written-exam marks, and the appellant, not making the cut in the fresh panel, was terminated from service in 2020 after several years of employment.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court went further than either party had argued and held that the 2010 advertisement itself was void from the very beginning, because it never disclosed the total number of posts or the reserved-versus-general-category breakdown: a basic transparency requirement for any public employment notice under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. Since the recruitment process flowing from a void advertisement is itself a nullity, the appellant's original appointment never conferred a valid right to the post, and no hearing was required before undoing it (natural justice need not be observed where the underlying action is void ab initio and hearing the affected party would change nothing). The Court quashed the entire recruitment and directed the State to issue a fresh, rule-compliant advertisement within six months, with age relaxation for affected candidates.

Lesson Learnt

A public job advertisement that skips basic disclosure requirements (like the number of posts and reservation break-up) can be struck down as void years later, and an employee's appointment under it carries no protected right, even if the employee did nothing wrong. Anyone appointed through a flawed or informal government recruitment process should be aware their job security may ultimately depend on how lawfully the original advertisement itself was framed.

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

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