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Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) & Anr. v. Seema Kapoor

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 348Decided 22 Jul 2021
Civil Appeal No. 4461 of 2021
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul · Justice Hemant Gupta

Background

The respondent, a primary school teacher employed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, applied for the post of PGT (English, Female) advertised by DSSSB, but was over the prescribed age limit of 36 years. She claimed she was entitled to a 5-year age relaxation available to "Government servants and departmental candidates." The Central Administrative Tribunal and the Delhi High Court both ruled in her favour, treating the Municipal Corporation as a government body. DSSSB appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Municipal Corporation is an autonomous statutory body, not the Central Government, so a Central Government circular restricting age relaxation to "Central Government Civilian Employees" did not cover the respondent. It also rejected her alternative argument that she qualified as a "departmental candidate" merely because the Corporation's recruitment rules offered teachers a promotional channel, holding that a promotional avenue within one organisation does not make an employee a "departmental candidate" for a direct-recruitment post in a different, unrelated recruiting body (DSSSB). Since she did not fall within either exempted category, she was not entitled to the age relaxation she had claimed. The Court allowed the appeal and set aside both the Tribunal's and the High Court's orders in her favour.

Lesson Learnt

Age-relaxation and similar eligibility concessions in government recruitment are strictly construed according to the exact category of employer and employee defined in the rules, working for one public body does not automatically make you eligible for relaxations meant for employees of a different, specifically-named body (here, the Central Government).

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

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