The Delhi High Court has ruled that the unfilled vacancies for various posts in the Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), due to the non-joining of selected candidates and leftover seats, can be filled from the reserve list.
The order came after a bunch of candidates, who had scored above the qualifying marks but were not appointed, moved the court seeking a direction to the Centre to fill up the leftover or unfilled vacancies, on the basis of their merit.
A Bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna directed the Union government to fill the unfilled vacancies due to the non-joining of candidates as well as the leftover seats for a recruitment process initiated by the SSB in 2016 and another recruitment process conducted by CAPF in 2018 from the pool of candidates from the reserved list.
In 2016, applications to fill up the 872 posts of Sub-Inspector, Assistant Sub-Inspector and Head Constable in the SSB were invited through an advertisement. The process of selection was conducted in three stages – physical test, document verification and written examination.
The result of the examination was declared after three years in 2019 and due to inordinate delay in completing the recruitment process, many candidates could not join the department. It was stated by the petitioners that out of the 746 vacancies, 674 vacancies were filled and 72 vacancies were pending for the post of Head Constable.
Some candidates, who had scored above the qualifying marks but were not appointed, have approached the court seeking to fill up the leftover or unfilled vacancies.
Similarly, an advertisement to conduct open examination to the post of Constables in CAPFs was published in 2018. While the final result of this recruitment process was declared in January 2020, it was contended by the petitioners that out of 60,210 posts of Constable (GD) in CAPF, 54,411 candidates were provisionally selected and rest of the posts were left vacant.
The petitioners contended that if the Centre release fresh advertisement to conduct similar examination to fill the leftover vacancies it would cause “serious prejudice” to them.
The high court noted that the advertisements for the posts issued by the Centre was quite descriptive about the vacancies and process of selection, however, it was silent on the aspect of leftover vacancies in the event of non-joining of the candidates as well as unfilled vacancies.
“These advertisements/notice nowhere mention that in the eventuality of non-filling of vacancies; whether any wait list/ select list of the candidates on the basis of their merit will be prepared and considered,” the High Court said in its December 21 verdict.
“...We find that it would not only be in favour of meritorious candidates to get appointments against the unfilled seats, due to non-joining of candidates as well as left-over vacancies; but also in the interest of respondents (Centre) to prevent them to undergo an exhausting and laborious recruitment process of vacancies pertaining to the year 2016 and 2018,” the High Court said.
