In Brief
The U.P. Power Corporation cancelled a 1978 selection process for Class IV positions and terminated all appointees, including Ram Gopal. Another similarly placed candidate, Shyam Behari Lal, successfully challenged his termination in court after 17 years of service, obtaining equitable relief. Ram Gopal filed his writ petition over 12 years later, seeking parity. The High Court allowed his petition. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that delay and laches bar the remedy, that Shyam Behari Lal's relief was in personam (not extending to all similarly placed persons), and that Ram Gopal could not claim equitable parity without approaching courts expeditiously. The appeal was allowed and the writ petition dismissed.
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