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Union of India and Ors. vs. Probir Ghosh and Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 195Decided 17 Feb 2022
Civil Appeal No. 4585 of 2018
Hemant Gupta · V. Ramasubramanian

Background

The Staff Selection Commission had run a large 2011-12 recruitment drive for Constables/Riflemen in forces like BSF, CRPF, ITBP and Assam Rifles, with vacancies carefully divided state-wise, category-wise, and even by specific "border districts" and "Naxal-affected" areas, each with its own quota. Several unsuccessful or partly-successful candidates went to the Gauhati High Court and the Delhi High Court, arguing that they should be considered against vacancies in other border-district categories or other services even though their own applications had indicated a fixed preference, and the High Courts ruled in their favour. The Union of India and the Commission appealed, arguing the High Courts had effectively rewritten the recruitment notification's own rules.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court sided with the Union of India on the main issues. It held that different categories of "border districts" (each carrying its own separate quota under the notification) cannot be treated as interchangeable just because a candidate belongs to one border district: that would tamper with the notification's own scheme, since different considerations may explain why vacancies are split this way. The Court also held that once a candidate has clearly indicated a preference for a particular service, they cannot later claim a right to be considered for a different service ahead of someone who correctly preferred that service, purely because they scored higher marks overall: preferences must be honoured position-by-position down the merit list, not overridden by ranking alone. On a separate point about caste certificates not being in the prescribed format, the Court declined to disturb the outcome given genuine factual disputes and the decade-long delay already involved.

Lesson Learnt

In competitive government recruitment, the specific eligibility categories and service preferences set out in the official notification are strictly binding: a candidate cannot later ask a court to blend different quota categories together, or to override their own recorded preference, simply because it would work out better for them.

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

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