In Brief
The Supreme Court examined challenges to relaxation of eligibility criteria for Junior Office Assistant posts in Himachal Pradesh. The court held that post-deadline relaxation of essential qualifications without wide publicity and opportunity for similarly situated candidates to apply violates Articles 14 and 16. The court found the relaxation order bypassed a statutory regime under the Takniki Shiksha Board Act for institutional recognition. The directions to re-draw merit lists for Post Code 556 using the relaxation were quashed, but existing appointments under Post Code 447 were not disturbed given the passage of time and lack of proof of mala fides. The court affirmed that employers can re-advertise posts under new rules without filling all vacancies under old rules.
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