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Union of India and Ors. v. Shankar Prasad Deep Etc. Etc.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 365Decided 14 Mar 2019
Civil Appeal Nos. 3030-3044 of 2019
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice Hemant Gupta

Background

Between 1984-93, land belonging to thousands of families was acquired for the Sambalpur-Talcher Rail Link Project in Odisha. Railway Board policy promised one preferential Group C/D job per displaced family, subject to conditions like minimum qualifications and only in direct-recruitment vacancies. When the Railways later advertised 511 Group D posts and filled most through ordinary recruitment, affected oustee families approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, which ruled in their favour and directed the Railways to accommodate all oustees without requiring them to go through the normal selection process. The Orissa High Court upheld the Tribunal's decision, prompting the Union of India to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Tribunal had overstepped its authority by effectively rewriting the government's rehabilitation policy: the policy always required oustees to meet basic qualifications and go through a selection/suitability process; it never promised unconditional employment. After calling for fresh data, the Court found that of 2,805 applicants, 2,153 had been rejected mostly on technical grounds (missing or insufficient land-acquisition proof, incomplete applications, age mismatches, etc.), and that only 82 posts remained vacant. Rather than approve mass accommodation without process, the Court directed a fresh, fairer verification exercise: all previously rejected oustees should get another chance to reapply with proper documentation (with local administration helping verify land-loss claims), new applications to be invited within three months, a fresh written test held exclusively for oustees, a 15-year age relaxation granted, and the process completed within six months, without displacing anyone already recruited through direct recruitment. The appeals were allowed with these directions substituting for the Tribunal's and High Court's orders.

Lesson Learnt

Government rehabilitation policies for land oustees typically promise a fair chance and reasonable preferential treatment, not an unconditional guarantee of a job, but when applicants are being rejected en masse on technical documentation grounds, courts can step in to ensure a genuine, well-publicised reverification opportunity rather than letting legitimate claims be lost to paperwork.

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

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