The
Supreme Court on Tuesday, September 9, held that candidates from reserved
categories who have availed of fee or age relaxations cannot be considered for
unreserved category vacancies if the recruitment rules prohibit such migration.
A
bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi made the observation while
hearing a plea by the Centre challenging a Tripura High Court order. The high
court had permitted OBC candidates — who had availed age relaxation — to be
considered under the general category for constable recruitment.
“Whether a reserved candidate who has availed
relaxation in fees or upper age limit to participate in open competition with
general candidates may be recruited against unreserved seats would depend on
the facts of each case,” the bench said.
The
court clarified that if recruitment rules or job notifications do not impose
such restrictions, reserved category candidates who perform better than the
last unreserved selected candidate can be recruited in the general category.
However,
if the recruitment guidelines specifically bar such migration, then those
candidates shall not be considered under the unreserved quota.
The
Centre cited a 1998 office memorandum stating that SC, ST, and OBC candidates
who benefit from age, attempt, or fee relaxations are ineligible for unreserved
posts.
In
this case, the candidates had applied under the OBC category and availed of age
relaxation. While they failed to qualify in their category due to lower marks,
their scores were higher than the last selected candidate in the unreserved
list. They had approached the Tripura High Court seeking migration to the
general category.
The Supreme Court also referred to a
2018 Delhi High Court decision in a similar case and declined to follow its
reasoning, stating that such transitions depend on the specific rules governing
recruitment.