In Brief
The Railway administration issued a memo limiting recruitment of fresh-face substitutes in Bikaner Division to only candidates who had completed apprenticeship training with the Railways. The Tribunal quashed this memo as violating Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, finding it discriminatory against qualified non-railway apprentices. Although the High Court dismissed subsequent writ petitions, the Court held that while preference may be given to railway-trained apprentices on merit, an absolute exclusion is unconstitutional. The appellants, appointed during litigation pending interim orders, cannot continue in service, but are entitled to age relaxation to compete in fresh regular recruitment.
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