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Sivanandan C.T. & Ors. v. High Court of Kerala & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2017 INSC 1107Decided 14 Nov 2017
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 229 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. In the 2015 selection to the Kerala Higher Judicial Service, a minimum cut-off for viva-voce marks was introduced after the written examination results were already known. Candidates challenged this as changing the rules of the game after the game was played, relying on K. Manjusree v. State of Andhra Pradesh.

Decision Breakdown

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. The Court noted that a later three-judge Bench in Tej Prakash Pathak v. Rajasthan High Court had doubted the correctness of Manjusree on this very point and referred the question to a larger Bench. It did not decide the challenge on merits and referred this writ petition also to the larger Bench, to be heard along with Tej Prakash Pathak.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether a recruiting body may introduce a minimum interview cut-off after the written results are known. The question is pending before a larger Bench.

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

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