NEW DELHI: Supreme Court has held that the Centre and the state governments cannot make more appointments than the number of posts advertised.
A bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar while dismissing petitions challenging a Gauhati High Court order noted,”If requisition and advertisement are for a certain number of posts only, the government cannot make more appointments than the number of posts.
The government cannot deviate from the advertisement and make appointments in posts falling vacant thereafter, in exceptional cases or in an emergent situation and that too by taking a policy decision in that behalf,” the court said. The apex court also noted that the principle of equality as laid down in Article 14 of the Constitution, ”does not envisage negative equality and if the government had committed a mistake, it cannot be forced to perpetuate the same.
The persons recruited beyond the sanctioned advertisement cannot make the plea of equality under Article 14 for sustaining their illegal employment merely on the basis of the mistake committed by government regarding their illegal appointment.”
The apex court verdict came on an appeal filed by Arup Das and some other persons from Assam who had challenged the Gauhati High Court order striking down their appointments made by the land record survey department beyond the 160 advertised posts.
The apex court dismissing their appeals added that recommending the petitioner’s names for the training after 160 candidates had already been selected was in violation of the recruitment norms, as the government had only advertised 160 posts which it had already filled up. It also mentioned that any recommendation for the training beyond the number of advertised posts was unconstitutional and illegal and thus liable to be struck down. (UNI)