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HC Pradeep Kumar Rai and Others v. Dinesh Kumar Pandey and Others

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 6549 of 2014)Decided 11 May 2015
Civil Appeal No. 6549 of 2014
Justice Ranjan Gogoi · Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Background

This was a long-running dispute (dating to 1999) over the process used by the Uttar Pradesh government to promote Constables and Head Constables to the rank of Sub-Inspector, which involved a preliminary exam, a main written exam, and an interview. Unsuccessful candidates (including the appellants in this batch) challenged several aspects of the process before the High Court: such as the number of candidates called for interview relative to vacancies, the "sealed cover" procedure used for candidates facing pending disciplinary/criminal proceedings, and the practice of interview panelists awarding only consolidated (rather than individual) marks. The High Court's Single Judge and then Division Bench rejected these challenges, and the unsuccessful candidates appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that a government order's use of the word "shall" made it mandatory to call for interview all candidates meeting the prescribed marks threshold, so there was no legal requirement capping the interview list strictly in proportion to vacancies, calling more candidates than a strict ratio might suggest was, at most, imprudent but not unlawful absent mala fide. It also held that candidates who participated in the interview without objection and only challenged the process after losing could not be permitted to "approbate and reprobate" by raising the challenge later. On the sealed-cover procedure, the Court found no prejudice shown to any candidate. On consolidated interview marks, while separate marking by each panelist is the better practice, the absence of it alone, without proof of oblique motive or a resulting miscarriage of justice, was not sufficient to invalidate the whole selection process. Finding no oblique motive or miscarriage of justice, the Court dismissed all the appeals and the writ petition in the batch, including Civil Appeal No. 6549 of 2014.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will not interfere with an executive selection/promotion process merely because it departs from the most prudent procedure (e.g., inviting more candidates than a strict ratio, or awarding consolidated interview marks): interference requires proof of mala fide or an actual miscarriage of justice; and a candidate who takes part in a selection process without objection cannot later challenge it simply because the result went against them.

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

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