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Chaitra Nagammanavar vs State of Karnataka & Ors.

Not available · 2024 INSC 367Decided 2 May 2024
Not available
Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha · Justice Aravind Kumar

Background

Bangalore University advertised a backlog vacancy for Assistant Professor (English) reserved for a Scheduled Tribe candidate, stating the "Mode of Selection" would follow the 2001 Special Recruitment Rules, which give preference to ST candidates aged 29-40 over even more meritorious candidates. Both the appellant (Chaitra Nagammanavar) and respondent no. 7 were eligible ST candidates; the appellant was more meritorious but outside the 29-40 age bracket, while respondent no. 7 fell within it. The university nonetheless appointed the appellant purely on merit, ignoring its own advertised rule, prompting respondent no. 7 to successfully challenge the appointment before the Karnataka High Court (both Single Judge and Division Bench), which held the university was bound by the 2001 Rules it had itself announced.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court dismissed the appellant's appeal, holding that a 2004 amendment (Section 4(1A) of the Karnataka Reservation Act, 1990) required universities to follow a government-specified procedure for filling SC/ST backlog vacancies, and although the government never issued a formal notification, it had repeatedly written to the university directing it to follow the 2001 Rules, and the university itself had advertised that these Rules would govern selection. Given this clear declaration and the government's persistent directions, the university could not later depart from the 2001 Rules to appoint on pure merit instead of following the age-based preference for respondent no. 7. However, noting the appellant had continued working for over four and a half years due to a series of stays she obtained during the litigation, the Court, recognising the unfairness was caused by the university's own inconsistent conduct rather than any fault of the appellant, suggested the university consider creating a supernumerary post to accommodate her, while still directing that respondent no. 7 be given the position he had rightfully earned.

Lesson Learnt

When an institution publicly advertises specific selection rules for a job, it is bound to follow them even if it later prefers a different method such as pure merit; but courts can still soften the human cost of correcting such an error, for instance by urging creation of an extra post for someone who worked in good faith for years due to the employer's own mistake.

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

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