In Brief
A Delhi recruitment examination for Head Clerk (Grade II DASS) was cancelled after investigations found systemic deficiencies including a five-year delay, non-randomized seating allowing family members to sit together, candidates concentrated in narrow geographical areas, massive disparities between Tier-I and Tier-II performance, and impersonation. The Central Administrative Tribunal and Delhi High Court partially quashed the cancellation, restricting relief to six candidates. The Supreme Court, upholding the cancellation, held that where recruitment processes are vitiated by systemic, large-scale irregularities denying equal access and eroding process credibility, authorities may cancel entirely without separately identifying each wrongdoer, unless segregation is clearly feasible. Public confidence in recruitment must be preserved even if some innocent candidates suffer hardship.
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