In Brief
The Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board challenged a High Court order directing it to grant age relaxation to a candidate applying for a Teacher post under a 2009 recruitment advertisement. The candidate had relied on a 2008 judgment (Sachin Gupta case) that gave one-time age relaxation due to hardship from a sudden change in recruitment rules. The Supreme Court held that the Sachin Gupta judgment—a limited, hardship-based measure for candidates in 2008—cannot be perpetually applied to subsequent recruitment drives. Since the respondent applied under a 2009 advertisement, not 2008, he was not entitled to invoke that judgment. The doctrine of legitimate expectation does not apply because the employer never promised employment to course completers. The appeal was allowed and both the High Court and CAT orders were set aside.
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