Supreme Court: Reserved-Category Candidates Scoring Above General Cut-Off Eligible for Unreserved Posts

A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SC Sharma observed that a reserved-category candidate who scores higher than the cut-off marks for General Category candidates shall be treated as eligible for unreserved vacant posts.

"It is now a settled proposition of law that a candidate belonging to reserve category who has scored marks higher than the cut off marks for the General Category is to be treated as having qualified against an open or unreserved vacant post."

Facts of the Case

• The matter pertained to appointments to the post of Junior Assistant (Fire Service) in the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

• Out of 245 posts notified, 122 were for unreserved, 78 for OBC, 22 for SC, 23 for ST, and 1 carried-forward vacancy.

• 185 candidates qualified, with 158 initially selected and remaining 27 put on a panel.

• Respondent No.1, who was successful at all stages, did not figure in the final selected list and challenged the inclusion of reserved-category candidates in unreserved posts.

High Court Findings

• A Single Judge ruled in favor of Respondent No.1, noting that appointments were vitiated because only 158 candidates were appointed against 245 posts.

• The High Court Division Bench upheld the findings but modified relief, directing appointment of Respondent No.1 only to the vacancy kept vacant and instructed AAI to follow the DoPT 1997 roster for future appointments.

Supreme Court Observations

• Reservation roster comes into play after the selection process is complete.

• The roster defines quota for recruitment, not the selection process itself.

• Meritorious candidates in reserved categories who exceed General Category cut-offs can be migrated to unreserved vacancies.

• The High Court failed to interpret the DoPT Memorandum correctly and gave directions inconsistent with the established law.

• "The reservation roster is not used to make selections during the recruitment process, but only to define number of vacant posts for advertising for recruitment… it can be used to decide who deserves selection and who does not deserve selection on account of a concerned category quota being filled by more meritorious candidates."

Final Decision

The Supreme Court set aside the High Court judgments. No direction was passed for the appointment of Respondent No.1 or any other unreserved category candidate. This judgment clarifies that reserved-category candidates scoring above the General Category cut-off are eligible for unreserved posts, reinforcing merit-based selection while respecting reservation principles.

Case Title : Airport Authority of India & Ors. v. Sham Krishna B & Ors., SLP (C) No. 10686 of 2020