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Kulwinder Pal Singh Etc. v. State of Punjab

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 5035-5036 of 2016)Decided 12 May 2016
Civil Appeal Nos. 5035-5036 of 2016
Chief Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The appellants were general-category candidates who appeared for the Punjab Civil Services (Judicial Branch) recruitment of 2007-08 but were not high enough on the merit list to get an initial appointment. When three selected candidates failed to join service, the appellants argued they were next in line and should have been offered those vacant posts; the Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected this claim, and the appellants appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that candidates have no indefeasible right to appointment merely because their names appear on a select list, and that the number of candidates already appointed exceeded the advertised vacancies, so the list stood exhausted. The Court also upheld the High Court's finding that reserved posts could not have been validly "de-reserved" and filled by general-category candidates after the Constitution's Article 16(4B) was inserted, and held that an illegal benefit given to some candidates cannot be used to claim a right to the "same illegality" for others (no negative equality under Article 14). The appeals were accordingly dismissed with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Being on a merit/select list does not create an automatic right to a government job: appointment depends on actual vacancies, and courts will not extend an illegal benefit to more people merely because it was mistakenly given to others.

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

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