In Brief
Candidates for Civil Judge (Junior Division) recruitment in Bihar challenged Rule 5A(3) of the Bihar Civil Service (Judicial Branch) (Recruitment) Rules, 1955, which limited qualification for final examination to 10% of candidates appearing in the preliminary test. The Supreme Court held that this rule violated its earlier judgment requiring a 1:10 ratio of available vacancies to successful candidates. The Court found the 10% restriction arbitrary and unreasonable, as it severely limited the competitive field. The Court also identified the absence of minimum passing marks in the preliminary examination as a deficiency. Rule 5A(3) was struck down, and the Court directed the State to prescribe minimum passing marks separately for general and reserved categories in future examinations.
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