In Brief
The Punjab State appointed seven civil service officers in 1993-94 by relaxing normal recruitment rules, to honour commitments made to families of state employees killed during extremist violence. These appointments were challenged in court. The Supreme Court found conflicting precedents: one case prohibited relaxation of recruitment rules; another upheld similar 'exceptional appointments' for extremist violence victims' families. Rather than decide, a two-judge bench referred the case to a larger bench to authoritatively resolve whether the State can relax recruitment rules in such special humanitarian circumstances. The bench noted the appointments were now 20+ years old and required early resolution."
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