Recently, the Supreme Court has clarified that mere inclusion on a waitlist does not confer a candidate any vested right to appointment, particularly in the context of subsequent recruitment processes. The Apex court’s observation comes in the wake of a challenge to a Calcutta High Court order that had directed Prasar Bharati to appoint a technician who was first on the waitlist in an earlier recruitment drive.
The Division Bench of Justice P S Narasimha and Justice Atul S Chandurkar quashed the High Court’s direction, noting the practical implications of using a previous waitlist for a new selection process. The Court held, “While considering the entitlement of the respondent (the technician) to any relief on the basis of his placement in the reserved panel, it would be necessary to bear in mind the settled position that mere placement in the wait list does not create any vested right for being so appointed. The right to be considered for appointment would spring only in the contingency of a selected candidate not joining on his post. The wait list operates for a limited period. It cannot extend for an indefinite period and in any event after a fresh process of recruitment has commenced.”
The case arose from a contention that the technician, having topped the waitlist in a prior recruitment, was entitled to appointment during a subsequent recruitment cycle. The Top Court emphasized that any claim arising from waitlist status ceases once the selected candidates have assumed their posts and the recruitment process concludes, “There was no vested right in favour of the respondent to urge that he was entitled to be considered and appointed on any fresh vacancy arising in the future.”
The Court observed that the High Court had overlooked this principle, stating, “It appears that the High Court glossed over these vital aspects while directing the appellants to absorb the services of the respondent. The available vacancies having been filled up in 1997 resulted in exhaustion of the wait list.”
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