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The Director of Indian System of Medicine & Anr. v. Dr. Susmi C.T. & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 839Decided 8 Dec 2021
Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (Civil) Nos. 24214-24221 of 2019
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit · Justice S. Ravindra Bhat · Justice Bela M. Trivedi

Background

A government-maintained ranked list of candidates for Medical Officer (Ayurveda) posts was due to expire in November 2017. Several candidates approached the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) claiming the Department of Indian System of Medicine had failed to report a number of vacancies that arose during the list's currency, including vacancies said to have opened up after certain promotions. The KAT ruled in the candidates' favour and directed the Department to report and fill the vacancies; the Kerala High Court upheld this, partly on the ground that the Department's challenge was filed too late.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the Department's own tabular record showed every vacancy that arose during the list's validity had in fact been reported, except five seats reserved for persons with disabilities that could not be filled for want of eligible candidates. It held the High Court's dismissal on technical grounds of delay and "finality" was "cavalier," especially given the public importance of the recruitment dispute and a pending review before the KAT. On merits, the Court held that candidates on a ranked list only acquire a right to be considered against vacancies that actually arose and were reported, not against vacancies merely assumed to exist (such as those the Tribunal inferred from a promotion order that did not, on the facts, free up entry-level posts). The KAT's and High Court's orders were set aside and the Department's appeals were allowed.

Lesson Learnt

Being on a government recruitment rank list does not create an automatic right to appointment against vacancies that are merely assumed to exist; the obligation to appoint arises only for vacancies that genuinely occurred and were reported, and courts should not reject a public authority's challenge on narrow technicalities like delay without examining the substance of a recruitment dispute.

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

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