Waitlist Panel Can't Be Operated In Segregated Manner; Vacancies Must Be Filled From Valid Waitlist: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the waitlist panel cannot operate in a segregated manner, especially when the selection process of recruitment involves provisional result. “… a waitlist panel cannot be permitted to operate in a segregated manner. Where a selection process involves a provisional result, followed by Supplementary or additional result, the waitlist panel cannot be considered to operate in fragments corresponding to subsequent declarations of results,” a division bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Madhu Jain said. The Bench dismissed an appeal filed by Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) challenging an order passed by Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) granting relief to various candidates and asking the Authority to consider their candidature for appointment on the post of Warder (Male) in the Prison Department.Some candidates, including those concerning the present lis, were placed in the waitlist panel. The DSSSB considered the panel valid until March 2021, ending recruitment thereafter. The candidates in question then sought information under the RTI Act and learned that some dossiers submitted by some selected candidates were cancelled before the waitlist panel expired, yet new eligible candidates weren't considered for appointment.They approached the CAT seeking a direction on DSSSB to fill all advertised vacancies and provide them consequential benefits. They were granting relief thereafter. Upholding the CAT's order, the Bench observed that the result declared could not be said to be the final result inasmuch as it was provisional in nature for various candidates, with their eligibility still to be determined.“While there can no cavil to the proposition of law that a candidate in the reserve panel does not have an indefeasible right to appointment, however, at the same time, the reserve panel, if mandated by the Rules to be operated, must be operated in the right spirit and cannot be allowed to be defeated by the casual approach of the petitioners,” the Court said.It directed that vacancies which arose due to cancellation or non-joining of candidates within the validity period were required to be filled from the waitlist panel, in accordance with settled principles of fair and non-arbitrary recruitment.Title: DELHI SUBORDINATE SERVICES SELECTION BOARD & ANR v. SAHIL LOHCHAB & ORSCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1407Click here to read order

Waitlist Panel Can't Be Operated In Segregated Manner; Vacancies Must Be Filled From Valid Waitlist: Delhi High Court

Nupur Thapliyal

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