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Bishnu Biswas and others v. Union of India and others

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 4255-58 of 2014)Decided 2 Apr 2014
Civil Appeal Nos. 4255-58 of 2014
Justice B.S. Chauhan · Justice J. Chelameswar

Background

Recruitment rules for eight Group D posts required a written examination carrying fifty marks. After the examination, the authority introduced an interview worth another fifty marks, and candidates with lower written scores overtook stronger performers. The Tribunal cancelled appointments; the High Court directed the recruitment to resume from the stage where it became defective.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court dismissed the appointed candidates' appeals and upheld the High Court's remedy. An interview absent from the recruitment rules had been introduced after the written test, and its scoring showed a lack of transparency. The Court explained that suitable interview weight depends on the post rather than a universal percentage, but this process was invalid on its particular facts. Restarting only the defective stage preserved earlier valid work and avoided excluding candidates who had become older during six years of litigation. The broader issue of changing selection criteria was already before a larger bench.

Lesson Learnt

Applicants could challenge a selection distorted by an unauthorised interview added after the examination. The remedy here preserved the valid earlier stage; it did not require an entirely new recruitment.

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

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