SC Bars Unprescribed Mid-Process Changes in Govt Job Recruitment Rules

The Supreme Court has ruled that government job recruitment rules cannot be altered mid-process unless explicitly provided for in the existing guidelines. Check details here

In an important ruling impacting the recruitment process, the Supreme Court announced that the "rules of the game" for government job appointments cannot be altered midway unless explicitly allowed by the procedure. In a unanimous 44-page judgment, the Constitution Bench emphasised that the laws, rules, and procedures governing public service recruitment - both at the Union and State levels must adhere to the fundamental principles of equality and non-discrimination as enshrined in the Constitution.

Important highlights from the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench ruling:

• The recruitment process begins when applications are invited and ends when all vacancies are filled.
• Eligibility criteria cannot be changed during the process unless explicitly permitted by existing rules.
• Recruitment rules must comply with Articles 14 (right to equality) and 16 (non-discrimination in public employment) of the Constitution, ensuring they are non-arbitrary.
• Being placed on a select list does not grant a candidate an absolute right to an appointment.
• The K Manjusree judgment remains valid law and is not invalid simply because it does not reference the Marwaha judgment.

The Supreme Court ruled that once the public recruitment process has begun, the rules cannot be changed unless explicitly allowed by the existing regulations. Answering a reference, a five-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said, “The recruitment process commences from the issuance of the advertisement calling for application and ends with filling up of vacancies. Eligibility criteria for being placed in the select list, notified at the commencement of the recruitment process, cannot be changed between to the recruitment process unless the extant rules so permit or the advertisement which is not contrary to the extant rules so permit.”

The bench also including Justices Hrishikesh Roy, PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra said, “If such change is permissible under the extant rules for the advertisement, the change would have to meet the requirement of the constitution and satisfy the test of non-arbitrariness.”

"Recruiting bodies subject to the extant rules may devise an appropriate procedure for bringing the recruitment process to its logical end provided the procedure so adopted is transparent, non-discriminatory, non-arbitrary and has a rationale nexus to the object sought to be achieved," Justice Misra said while pronouncing the verdict.

The bench stated that existing rules with statutory force are binding on recruiting bodies, both regarding procedure and eligibility. It clarified that if vacancies are available, the state or its agencies cannot arbitrarily deny appointments to individuals within the zone of consideration on the select list. The Supreme Court also emphasized that if the existing rules or the advertisement set benchmarks for different stages of the recruitment process, these benchmarks must be clearly defined before the recruitment process begins.

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