Waitlisted Candidates' Right Extinguish When All Selected Candidates Join Posts : Supreme Court
Observing that the waitlist of candidates cannot operate indefinitely and ceases once all the posts are filled up via recruitment process, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 15) set aside the Calcutta High Court's ruling which directed notional absorption of the waitlisted candidate years after the initial recruitment resulted in filling up of all the posts.
Allowing the Union government's plea, a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar observed that the candidate's claim as a “waitlisted candidate extinguished when all the selected candidates joined on their respective posts.” The Court stressed that a waitlist cannot be treated as a permanent source of recruitment, and once exhausted, it cannot be revived to fill vacancies in later years.
The case stemmed from a 1997 recruitment drive by All India Radio for three Technician posts reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. The Respondent was placed first on the reserve panel (waitlist), but all selected candidates joined their posts, leaving the panel inoperative. In 1999, during tribunal proceedings, government counsel assured that the Respondent would be “absorbed as soon as a vacancy arises.” That assurance became the bedrock of his litigation for nearly 25 years.
Despite the Central Administrative Tribunal and the High Court initially noting that waitlisted candidates had no legal right to appointment, the Respondent's claim resurfaced during subsequent recruitments. In 2024, the Calcutta High Court directed that he be notionally absorbed from 2013, citing the broken assurance backed by the doctrine of legitimate expectation.
The judgment authored by Justice Chandurkar faulted the High Court's decision noting that the concession given by the Union before the Court, although holds a solemn value, it can't be given effect if results in violation of any statutory rules or regulations.
“At the same time, it has to be seen as to whether such statement in the form of a concession, if given effect to would result in violation of any statutory rules or regulations. If such consequence is likely to flow, it would be open for the affected party on whose behalf such concession in law was made to place before the Court the correct position of law and urge that it may not be compelled to give effect to an erroneous concession made on law.”, the court said.
The court added that the waitlisted cannot seek a permanent right to be absorbed in the service later, as it would prejudice the rights of the upcoming candidates in fresh recruitment process.
“It would amount to filling in one post in the subsequent recruitment on the basis of an exercise carried out in the previous recruitment. This would definitely cause prejudice to the candidates seeking recruitment in the subsequent process as the vacancies would stand reduced. Moreover, it would also extend the life of the wait list though all vacancies stand filled in, which would be impermissible.”, the Court said.
“The available vacancies having been filled up in 1997 resulted in exhaustion of the wait list and the said process of recruitment had come to an end. The High Court has, therefore, erred in directing the absorption of the respondent.”, the court noted.
Accordingly, the appeal was allowed.
Cause Title: THE UNION OF INDIA & ORS. VERSUS SUBIT KUMAR DAS
Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 1010