Delay doesn’t grant advantage: HC rules Administrative Delay doesn’t override eligibility

In a decisive ruling on age eligibility for public service, the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected a petition seeking relaxation of the maximum age limit for the post of Assistant Professor (Sociology) under MPPSC Advertisement No. 29/2024. The Court highlighted that administrative delays in concluding earlier recruitment cannot override the clearly prescribed age criteria, signaling strict adherence to recruitment rules.

The dispute involved a 46 year old Scheduled Tribe candidate working in the Forest Department, who sought age relaxation up to 50 years. He argued that delays in the 2022 recruitment process, combined with reliance on earlier age limits under Advertisement No. 07/2017, unfairly made him ineligible under the 45 year cut-off for the 2024 advertisement.

The petitioner invoked the principles of legitimate expectation and equality under Articles 14 and 16. The MPPSC opposed the request, stating that each recruitment is governed by its own rules and that eligibility criteria must be strictly followed. The Commission also argued that the Court cannot intervene to relax age limits without a formal constitutional challenge.

The Court upheld the MPPSC’s age limit, stating that even administrative delays cannot create a vested right to participate in subsequent recruitments with different criteria. Observing that “eligibility conditions prescribed in an advertisement must be strictly complied with,” the bench rejected claims of legitimate expectation and emphasized that special judicial relaxation would undermine uniform application of rules.

Consequently, the petition was dismissed.

Case Title: Vijayendra Pal Singh Ajnariya Vs. THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND Another
Case No.: Writ Petition No.46233 Of 2025
Coram: Hon'ble Shri Justice Jai Kumar Pillai
Advocate for the Petitioner: Adv. Kamlesh Manwani
Advocate for the Respondent:Adv. Raghav Shrivastava, Adv V.P. Khare
Read Judgment @Latestlaws.com