In Brief
The High Court of Kerala had ordered that vacancies arising within one year of approval of a 2019 merit list for Munsiff-Magistrate posts could be filled from that list, exceeding the 37 probable vacancies originally advertised. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that appointments cannot exceed notified vacancies in a recruitment year. 'Probable vacancies' means existing and anticipated vacancies within that specific year only—not future vacancies of subsequent years. To allow appointments beyond notified vacancies would violate Articles 14 and 16 by denying equal opportunity to candidates becoming eligible in the next recruitment year. Annual selection must be conducted separately for each year under established statutory rules and the directions of Malik Mazhar Sultan (3).
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.