In Brief
A candidate appearing in the Civil Judges examination was disqualified when her answer sheet showed pencil markings in violation of mandatory Instructions to Applicants. The High Court granted relief on humanitarian grounds, treating the violation as inadvertent and harmless. The Supreme Court set aside this judgment, holding that mandatory procedural instructions must be strictly followed without exception. The Court reasoned that relaxing such rules creates distrust in the public selection process, violates the principle of equality, and makes bad law. Even sympathetic individual cases cannot override binding procedural requirements.
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