Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court has directed the authorities to reconsider the revised provisional and final selection lists for Assistant Engineer Grade-1 posts in Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, to the extent that they were affected by a change in the cadre-allocation procedure introduced through a February 1, 2023, circular.A division bench of Justices DK Singh and H Shanthi Bhushan issued the direction while dismissing petitions challenging a Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal order that had quashed the circular.Under the original recruitment notification, candidates from the Hyderabad-Karnataka (HK) region had to specify whether they wished to be considered for posts under the 80% local quota or the 20% non-HK quota.The February 1, 2023, circular removed this requirement and allowed HK local candidates who failed to secure posts in their local cadre to be considered for non-local cadre vacancies as well.Several candidates affected by the change had approached the tribunal, which ruled in their favour. Those supporting the circular subsequently challenged the tribunal’s decision before the High Court.The bench observed that while the state govt has the authority to regulate recruitment and issue administrative instructions to implement the reservation framework under Article 371J, such powers must remain within constitutional and legal limits. Administrative instructions cannot override binding rules or change the basis of an ongoing recruitment process, it said.The court also rejected the argument that the circular was valid simply because it did not alter eligibility conditions, the examination pattern or candidates’ marks. The sequence in which candidates are considered for different cadres, the allocation of vacancies and the effect of options exercised under the original procedure are also relevant, the bench noted.Merit, it said, must operate within the framework established by the Constitution, applicable orders and rules, and the original recruitment notifications. The state could not justify the revised allocation procedure merely on the ground that it allowed candidates with higher marks to compete for Residual Parent Cadre posts.Directing the recruiting authorities to prepare revised selection lists in accordance with the applicable constitutional orders, rules and original notifications, the bench said the exercise must account for cadre-wise vacancies, reservation rosters, merit and the cadre options exercised by candidates under the procedure in force when recruitment began.The reconsideration must be restricted to cadre allocation and the resulting selection lists. Candidates’ eligibility and marks already secured cannot be reopened, the court clarified.
