Reserved Candidates Clearing General Cut-Off To Be Counted In Open Category, Says Allahabad HC
The Allahabad High Court has ruled that reserved-category candidates who clear the unreserved cut-off without using any relaxation must be considered in the open category at the screening stage when those marks contribute to final merit.
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The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has held that reserved-category candidates who score above the unreserved-category cut-off in a recruitment screening examination must be treated as candidates of the open category at the screening stage itself, provided they have not availed any relaxation or concession in the qualifying standard.
The ruling came in a case related to the recruitment of Swasthya Shiksha Adhikari through the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC). A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla passed the order while allowing a special appeal filed by Bhavna Yadav and others.
Screening Exam Marks To Count In Final Merit
The court observed that the screening examination in the recruitment process was not merely a preliminary shortlisting stage. The marks obtained in the screening test have a substantial bearing on the final selection.
According to the recruitment advertisement, 75 per cent of the final merit marks are based on the screening examination, while the remaining 25 per cent come from the interview. The court therefore held that the screening examination forms an integral part of the final selection process.
The court also set aside a condition in the recruitment advertisement that allowed reserved-category candidates to be adjusted against unreserved vacancies only at the final selection stage.
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Reserved Candidates To Be Considered Against Open Vacancies
The court held that Section 3(6) of the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 1994, does not restrict the consideration of meritorious reserved-category candidates against unreserved vacancies only to the final stage of recruitment.
This means that a reserved-category candidate who crosses the general or unreserved cut-off on merit, without using any concession in the qualifying standard, can be considered in the open category at the screening stage itself.
UP Government Asked To Clarify Recruitment Policy
The court directed the state government to formulate and clarify its policy on the issue within three months. The UPPSC has also been directed to review the applicability of the relevant office memorandum within the same period.
The ruling is relevant for recruitment examinations where marks from an initial screening or written test are subsequently used to prepare the final merit list. It also highlights the importance of the role assigned to a screening examination under the applicable recruitment rules and advertisement.
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Anjali is an education journalist with over a year of experience in digital and business journalism. She has previously worked with BW Businessworld and ANI, where she gained experience in news writing, editing, research, and fact-checking. At Jagran Josh, she writes education news and covers competitive exams and current affairs, with a keen interest in delivering accurate, informative, and reader-focused content. She holds a BA from Miranda House, University of Delhi, and a postgraduate diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Anjali enjoys reading and exploring new ideas and perspectives through books.
