In Brief
G. Kiran, a Scheduled Caste candidate, qualified the Indian Forest Service examination's preliminary stage using relaxed SC cut-off standards, then achieved a higher overall merit rank than a General category candidate in the final list. During cadre allocation, Karnataka had only one unreserved vacancy, which was allocated to the General candidate instead of Kiran. The Supreme Court held that a reserved category candidate who avails any relaxation at any examination stage—even in preliminary screening—cannot be treated as selected on general standards and is ineligible for unreserved vacancies in cadre allocation. The Court upheld the original allocation, setting aside orders from the Tribunal and High Court that had favored Kiran.
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