In Brief
JTET-qualified candidates challenged the High Court's order allowing CTET and STET-qualified candidates to participate in an ongoing teacher recruitment process in Jharkhand, where JTET was the stipulated minimum qualification under the 2022 Recruitment Rules. The Supreme Court held that once a recruitment process commences with an advertisement, the eligibility criteria cannot be altered midway without explicit authority in the rules or advertisement. The High Court's direction permitting different qualifications, based on the Advocate General's concession contrary to the State's earlier stand, was arbitrary and violated Article 16. Only JTET holders who possessed the requisite qualification on the advertisement date are eligible. The Court reaffirmed the principle that changing eligibility criteria mid-process deprives candidates of equal opportunity.
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