In Brief
An employee of the erstwhile State of Bihar appointed in a reserved (Scheduled Tribe) category position before bifurcation sought consideration for promotion to Deputy Collector through a limited departmental examination conducted by Jharkhand. The Jharkhand Public Service Commission rejected his candidature, requiring a fresh caste certificate from state authorities. The High Court's Division Bench upheld this rejection, treating the examination as direct recruitment. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that limited departmental examinations are promotions (not fresh recruitment) available only to existing employees. The Court ruled that employees allocated to successor states after reorganization retain their reserved category status and cannot be required to obtain fresh certification, protecting their service conditions under the Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000.
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