The Supreme Court docket lately noticed {that a} candidate belonging to a reserved class, who’s in any other case eligible and has been chosen within the open class on advantage, is entitled to a greater publish underneath the reserved class than a reserved-category candidate who has secured decrease marks.
The bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale stated the authorized place was settled and had been reiterated in a number of judgments, the most recent being the Structure Bench judgment in Union of India v. Ramesh Ram, (2010) 7 SCC 234.
“On the primary challenge, legislation is kind of settled and has been reiterated by this Court docket in a number of judgments with the final one being that of a bigger Bench in Union of India vs. Ramesh Ram and Ors. reported in (2010) 7 SCC 234. In such view of the matter, there is no such thing as a problem in holding that an individual who’s in any other case eligible underneath the reserved class and has been fitted into the open class, is entitled to a greater publish underneath the reserved class as in opposition to an individual who has secured lesser marks than him within the reserved class,” the Court docket stated.
The remark got here whereas listening to a batch of petitions arising from a judgment of the Jharkhand Excessive Court docket in regards to the allocation of companies to reserved-category candidates who have been chosen on open advantage within the sixth Mixed Civil Companies Examination performed by the Jharkhand Public Service Fee (JPSC).
The Excessive Court docket upheld the choice of a Single Choose who had refused to direct the State and JPSC to allocate Jharkhand Administrative Service to the petitioners. The petitioners had argued that though they’d secured greater marks and have been chosen within the open class, they have been allotted different companies, whereas reserved-category candidates who had secured fewer marks have been allotted Jharkhand Administrative Service.
The 4 petitioners earlier than the Excessive Court docket have been Chandan, Sanjay Kumar Mahto, Gautam Kumar and Kumar Avinash. Chandan, a Scheduled Caste candidate, secured 611 marks out of 1150 and was allotted Jharkhand Info Service. Sanjay Kumar Mahto, an EBC-I candidate, secured 621 marks and was allotted Jharkhand Finance Service. Gautam Kumar, an EBC candidate, secured 619 marks and was allotted Jharkhand Finance Service. Kumar Avinash, a Scheduled Caste candidate, secured 606 marks and was allotted Jharkhand Planning Service. None was allotted Jharkhand Administrative Service.
The final chosen candidate within the open class for Jharkhand Administrative Service had secured 631 marks. The corresponding cut-offs for Police, Finance, Schooling, Cooperative, Social Safety, Info and Planning Companies have been 679, 614, 614, 613, 613, 611 and 600 respectively.
The dispute arose from Clause 8 of the commercial, which was based mostly on a State Authorities coverage underneath which a reserved-category candidate securing marks at par with an open-category candidate was to be handled as an open-category candidate if the candidate had not been chosen underneath the reserved class by availing any rest.
The petitioners, nevertheless, argued that treating them as open-category candidates had positioned them at a drawback as a result of reserved-category candidates who had secured fewer marks had obtained Jharkhand Administrative Service.
The Excessive Court docket, nevertheless, famous that the petitioners had secured marks at par with the final chosen open-category candidates within the respective companies and possessed the requisite academic {qualifications}. It subsequently held that their remedy as open-category candidates and allocation of companies on that foundation was in accordance with Clause 8.
The Supreme Court docket, whereas listening to the appeals, famous that the respondents had contended that the respondents that the petitioners had actually availed a rest. The Court docket stated it discovered no materials to substantiate this declare.
The Court docket has granted the State and JPSC six weeks to file an affidavit on the difficulty of whether or not the petitioners had availed any rest.
The Court docket has additionally recognized an incidental challenge in regards to the place of unreserved candidates if a reserved-category candidate who had migrated to the unreserved class is subsequently despatched again to a reserved publish of the candidate’s alternative.
The issues have been listed for additional listening to on August 25, 2026.
Case no. – Particular Go away to Enchantment (C) No. 967/2024
Case Title – Chandan v. State of Jharkhand & Ors.
Quotation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 840
