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Salam Samarjeet Singh v. The High Court of Manipur at Imphal

Writ Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 294 of 2015)Decided 7 Oct 2016
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 294 of 2015
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh

Background

This is a split decision, not a final judgment. A scheduled-caste candidate for a single post of District Judge (Entry Level) in the Manipur Judicial Service cleared the written examination but was found to have failed the viva-voce under a 40% cut-off. The High Court's Full Court had fixed that cut-off only days before his interview, and he argued that it was introduced after the selection process had begun and was contrary to the Shetty Commission recommendations.

Decision Breakdown

This is a split decision, not a final judgment. Justice R. Banumathi held that the cut-off was validly introduced to ensure merit-based selection, that no prejudice was caused because nobody else was appointed to the post, and dismissed the writ petition. Justice Shiva Kirti Singh disagreed and would have allowed it. In view of their differing opinions, the two judges ordered that the matter be placed before an appropriate bench for final adjudication, with the permission of the Chief Justice of India.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether an interview cut-off fixed after the selection process began could be applied to this candidate. The question awaits another bench.

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

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