In Brief
Fifty-eight candidates selected for Assistant Lineman posts in the Manipur State Electricity Department in 1999 sought appointment, but the State had imposed a ban on direct recruitment in November 1999 due to financial crisis and cancelled all pending selections via a policy decision in March 2001. The High Court ordered their appointment to newly advertised Junior System Assistant posts in 2016. The Supreme Court set aside this order, holding that selected candidates have no indefeasible right to appointment and that the State's bona fide policy decision to cancel selections and ban recruitment during fiscal crisis was not arbitrary. Appointment cannot be compelled.
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