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Priyanka Prakash Kulkarni vs. Maharashtra Public Service Commission

Not available · 2024 INSC 98Decided 29 Jan 2024
Not available
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Satish Chandra Sharma

Background

The appellant, a State Tax Officer, applied for the Maharashtra State Services Preliminary Examination in the "Open General Category" because she could not obtain a Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) certificate valid as of the application deadline, even though she was otherwise eligible for the "Reserved Female Category." She cleared both the preliminary and main examinations. A later government corrigendum relaxed the NCL certificate requirement, allowing a certificate valid for the current financial year instead of one valid on the original deadline, and she then obtained such a certificate. The Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal and the Bombay High Court both rejected her request to be reclassified as a Reserved Female Category candidate, holding that categories could not be changed after the application was submitted.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court took an overly technical view of the "no change of category" instructions, which effectively nullified the benefit of the corrigendum. The Court noted that 7-8 other candidates who had applied without a valid NCL certificate were given the benefit of the corrigendum and had their candidature considered under the reserved category, while the appellant, who had acted honestly by not falsely claiming NCL status, was denied the same benefit. Finding her conduct bona fide and the denial unfair, the Court set aside the High Court's order and, invoking its special power under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice, directed the Commission to treat her as a Reserved Female Category candidate.

Lesson Learnt

When a government body relaxes eligibility conditions through a corrigendum after applications are filed, that relaxation must be applied even-handedly to all similarly situated candidates: a citizen who acted honestly should not be penalised relative to others who benefited from the same relaxation despite initially non-compliant applications.

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

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