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Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission v. Surendra Kumar & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 1093Decided 22 Nov 2018
Civil Appeal No. 11149 of 2018
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit · Justice R. Subhash Reddy

Background

The U.P. Public Service Commission had recommended candidates for 178 posts of Sub Deputy Inspector of Schools in batches between 2010 and 2012, after which 7 selected candidates failed to join and their names were cancelled. When the Education Department asked the Commission in 2013 to send 7 more names from the wait-list, the Commission refused, saying the one-year validity period for operating the wait-list (as fixed by government orders) had already expired. The affected candidate went to the Allahabad High Court, which ruled in his favour and directed the Commission to send more names.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the one-year wait-list validity period must be counted from the date of the first substantial recommendation (12 August 2010, covering 156 of the 178 posts), not from a later, smaller recommendation made in 2012. Since the request for 7 more names came nearly three years after the initial recommendation, it fell outside the one-year window and could lawfully be refused. The Court distinguished an earlier precedent relied upon by the candidate, finding it inapplicable on facts, and set aside the High Court's judgment, allowing the Commission's appeal.

Lesson Learnt

When a government recruiting body operates a wait-list, the clock for its validity runs from the first major recommendation list, not from subsequent minor additions: candidates and departments should track timelines from that anchor date.

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

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