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Dr. Amaragouda L Patil v. Union of India

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 201Decided 12 Feb 2025
Civil Appeal Nos. 301-303 of 2025 (arising from SLP(C) Nos. 20360-20362 of 2024)
Justice Dipankar Datta · Justice Manmohan

Background

Dr. Amaragouda L Patil, an unsuccessful candidate for Chairperson of the National Commission for Homeopathy, challenged the appointment of a rival candidate (the third respondent) on the ground that he lacked the mandatory 10 years' experience as a "leader" (Head of a Department or Organisation) required under the National Commission for Homeopathy Act, 2020, despite having a long career at the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy. A single judge of the Karnataka High Court agreed and quashed the appointment, but the Division Bench reversed that ruling on appeal, prompting this further appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Division Bench had misunderstood the statutory scheme and the limited scope for interference in appointment matters, and restored the single judge's decision. It found that the third respondent's actual career record did not satisfy the ten-year "leader" requirement defined in the Act, and that mandatory eligibility criteria for public appointments must be applied strictly since every public appointment must be fair and non-arbitrary. The Court held the appointment amounted to "malice in law" and a fraud on the selection process, quashed it, and directed the third respondent to step down within a week (short of a period to complete pending non-policy work), while ordering a fresh selection process. Past benefits received were not clawed back, but no further benefit could accrue from the now-void appointment.

Lesson Learnt

Mandatory eligibility criteria set out in a statute for appointment to public office must be strictly complied with, and courts will set aside an appointment made in violation of those criteria even years later, since, as the Court put it, "fraud unravels everything."

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

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