In Brief
This case concerned 11 candidates who applied for District Judge positions through a selection process initiated by Kerala's High Court in 2015. The selection was to be based on aggregate marks from a written exam and viva-voce interview, with no separate cut-off for the interview. After the viva-voce was conducted, the High Court retroactively imposed a minimum cut-off for the interview, causing some candidates (including the petitioners) to be excluded despite having higher aggregate marks than selected candidates. The Supreme Court held that this decision violated the rules, frustrated legitimate expectations, and amounted to arbitrary action under Article 14. However, since the selected candidates had worked as judges for six years, the Court declined to unseat them, disposed of the petitions without granting the relief sought.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.