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Rohtas Bhankhar v. Union of India

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 6046-6047 of 2004)Decided 15 Jul 2014
Civil Appeal Nos. 6046-6047 of 2004
Chief Justice R.M. Lodha · Justice J.S. Khehar · Justice J. Chelameswar · Justice A.K. Sikri · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees challenged the withdrawal of relaxed qualifying standards in departmental promotion examinations. A 1997 office memorandum and a subsequent regulatory amendment removed the relaxation after an earlier Supreme Court ruling. The dispute concerned the results of the 1996 limited departmental competitive examination for Section Officers and Stenographers.

Decision Breakdown

The Constitution Bench allowed the appeals and declared the 1997 office memorandum illegal. It held that the earlier S. Vinod Kumar decision had failed to consider Article 16(4A) and therefore was not sound authority for the withdrawal. It approved the approach in Kuldeep Singh as consistent with the constitutional scheme, also considering the later proviso to Article 335 and M. Nagaraj. The authorities were directed to modify the 1996 examination results by providing for reservation and grant the appellants all consequential relief not already given. The judgment did not require reservation in every promotion exercise irrespective of the applicable constitutional conditions.

Lesson Learnt

Employees affected by a departmental promotion examination can challenge a withdrawal of reserved-category benefits that rests on an incorrect legal basis. The applicable constitutional provisions, examination rules and scheme conditions still determine the benefit available.

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

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