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The Assam Public Service Commission v. Pranjal Kumar Sarma

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 1297Decided 28 Nov 2019
Civil Appeal No. 9100 of 2019
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice A.S. Bopanna · Justice Hrishikesh Roy

Background

The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) advertised 65 posts of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in December 2018, under selection rules then in force (the 2010 Rules), and conducted a written screening test in June 2019 under those rules, which had no negative marking. Before the interview stage, a new procedure (the 2019 Procedure) replaced the 2010 Rules, including a saving clause allowing pending selections to be completed under the old rules. Some candidates who had taken the screening test challenged that saving clause in the Gauhati High Court, which ruled that the new 2019 Procedure (with negative marking and different interview weightage) should apply even to this already-underway recruitment. The Commission appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that settled law requires a recruitment to be governed by the rules in force on the date of the advertisement, and that changes made mid-selection cannot be applied retrospectively unless expressly intended. Since the screening test here had already been conducted without negative marking under the 2010 Rules, switching to the 2019 Procedure for the interview stage would unfairly reward candidates who got lucky guesses on the written test, creating an inconsistent, two-rulebook selection process. The Court also noted the 2019 Procedure itself contained a savings clause protecting pending selections. It therefore set aside the High Court's judgment and directed the APSC to complete the entire recruitment process for these 65 posts under the 2010 Rules.

Lesson Learnt

Candidates have a right to be evaluated under the rules that existed when they applied for a job: a recruiting body generally cannot change the rules of the game partway through an ongoing selection process.

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

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