New Delhi. The Supreme Court today, November 7, adopted an important decision on government jobs. The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court said in its decision that the rules cannot be changed once the government management process has begun. The court has given this decision in the case appointed in the Rajasthan High Court. Let’s find out which is the case in which the Supreme Court issued its verdict.
In this case, after the job-related written examination and interview, the appointment rule was set with only 75 percent marks. However, the Center has said that if there is already a provision in the rules that eligibility for a job can be changed, then it can be done, but it cannot be done arbitrarily in violation of the right to equality. The Supreme Court ruled on the issue of recruitment in the public service. On many occasions, state governments used to change the rules after the process began, but this will not happen now.
The matter is related to the recruitment process for 13 translator posts in the Rajasthan High Court. Candidates had to participate in a written exam. Subsequently, candidates who passed the written exam had to give an interview. 21 candidates appeared for the exam. Only three of them were declared successful by the Superior Court (administrative part). It was later learned that the Chief Justice had ordered that only candidates who obtained a minimum score of 75 percent be selected for these positions.
The 75 per cent qualification rule was not mentioned in this recruitment process when the High Court first notified the recruitment process. Apart from this, only after applying these revised criteria, three candidates were selected and the remaining candidates were left out. The three unsuccessful candidates challenged this result by filing a writ petition in the High Court, which was dismissed in March 2010.
After the petition was rejected in the High Court, the candidates filed a petition in the Supreme Court. The petitioners argued that the Chief Justice’s decision to impose the minimum 75 per cent criterion amounted to changing the rules of the game once played, which was unacceptable. The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the CJI, issued its verdict in this regard.
In its decision, the Supreme Court stated that the recruitment process begins with the issuance of the application form and ends with the filling of the posts. Eligibility rules cannot be changed midstream; If such a change is made halfway through the rules and advertising, then it is necessary to comply with the criteria of Article 14. Obtaining a place on the selection list does not confer any right to the position.
