In Brief
The appellant, a lawyer, challenged the selection process for appointments to the Kerala Higher Judicial Service. He was initially excluded due to an illegal grant of grace marks to other candidates. After the High Court struck down those marks and directed recasting the merit list, the appellant was included at rank 3. However, three other direct recruits appointed earlier (on 30 March 2009) received priority in seniority. The Supreme Court held that the appellant was entitled to notional seniority from the date the other direct recruits were appointed, since all were selected in the same process and the earlier exclusion resulted from an illegal state act. The Court set aside the High Court's Division Bench order and allowed the appeals, directing that seniority be determined by merit ranking in the recast select list.
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