In Brief
This appeal addressed the recruitment of Village Development Officers by Uttar Pradesh authorities. The appellants, serving in the Armed Forces, applied as Ex-Servicemen with No-Objection Certificates and were ultimately appointed in 2019. The authorities later nullified their appointments on two grounds: they were still employed when the recruitment was advertised (February 2016), so could not be treated as Ex-Servicemen; and they lacked the required C.C.C. Certificate. The Supreme Court upheld the rejection, holding that eligibility must be assessed as of the advertisement's closing date, not the appointment date. Since the appellants were still in service then, they could not claim Ex-Servicemen status. The Court rejected their argument that prospective relief dates in their employer certificates conferred such status, emphasizing fairness to other candidates who did not apply believing themselves ineligible.
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