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The Electronic Corporation of India Limited and Anr. v. M. Shivani and Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 338Decided 8 Mar 2019
Civil Appeal No. 2560 of 2019
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit · Justice Indu Malhotra

Background

The respondents had worked for Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) through an outsourcing agency and sought the benefit of an age relaxation (up to 40 years) in a recruitment notification that was meant only for ECIL's own contract employees with a certain tenure. A single judge of the High Court dismissed their challenge, but a Division Bench later allowed their appeal and directed that they be permitted to participate in the selection process with the age relaxation. ECIL appealed to the Supreme Court, and the respondents did not appear despite repeated opportunities, so the matter was heard ex-parte.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the respondents, being outsourced employees rather than direct contract employees of ECIL, were not covered by the age-relaxation clause under the terms of the advertisement. It also noted that the respondents had challenged the recruitment process only after the application deadline had effectively passed, and that the Division Bench had not properly considered whether they had any right to claim the relaxation before issuing its directions. The Court held the Division Bench's assessment was "completely incorrect," allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's order, and restored the original order of the Single Judge dismissing the writ petition.

Lesson Learnt

Eligibility conditions in a government/PSU recruitment notification (such as who qualifies for an age relaxation) are applied strictly according to their own terms, and courts will not extend such benefits to categories of workers (like outsourced staff) that the notification did not intend to cover.

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

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