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The Karnataka State Seeds Development Corporation Limited & Anr. v. Smt. H.L. Kaveri & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 67Decided 21 Jan 2020
Civil Appeal No. 344 of 2020
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice Ajay Rastogi

Background

The respondent, a Scheduled Caste woman candidate, applied for backlog vacancies of Senior and Junior Assistant with the Karnataka State Seeds Development Corporation, scoring higher marks than several selected candidates, but her application was rejected at scrutiny because she had not enclosed the mandatory work-experience certificate required by the advertisement. A single judge of the High Court, after examining the original records, confirmed this and dismissed her writ petition, but a Division Bench on appeal directed the Corporation to still consider her claim, treating the case as one-off and "not a precedent." The Corporation appealed this Division Bench order to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the work-experience certificate was an express condition of eligibility under the advertisement, and it was undisputed on the record that the respondent had not submitted it: the Corporation was entitled to reject her application without even assigning reasons, as dozens of other similarly incomplete applications had also been rejected. The Court held that the Division Bench had committed a manifest error in granting relief based on sympathy rather than on the terms of the advertisement, and that mere invocation of writ jurisdiction under Article 226 does not entitle a court to override the legitimate rights of other eligible candidates who were correctly selected. The appeal was allowed and the Division Bench's judgment was set aside.

Lesson Learnt

In competitive public recruitment, courts will generally not relax or overlook an advertised eligibility condition for one candidate out of sympathy, especially where doing so would be unfair to other candidates who complied with the same requirements: applicants should ensure every mandatory document is submitted with their application, since late or equitable relief is not guaranteed.

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

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