In Brief
The Supreme Court heard appeals challenging Punjab's appointment of seven government employees' family members to civil service posts after the appointed were killed in extremist violence (1993–1994). The State relied on Rule 28 of recruitment rules to relax normal procedures. The Court found conflicting precedent: one line held such relaxations invalid; another deemed them lawful 'exceptional appointments' for terror victims. Unable to reconcile this conflict, the Court declined to decide the substantive issue and instead referred the matter to the Chief Justice for appropriate judicial constitution to authoritatively resolve the divergence.
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