Select list inclusion does not create a vested right to appointment when recruitment rules reserve discretion over vacancies.

Inclusion of a candidate's name in a select list did not create an indefeasible right to appointment where the recruitment framework left the Government discretion over cadre strength, recruitment method, and vacancies to be filled, and the regulations stated that selection remained subject to further requirements. The Court also found that the final selection process had been validly closed at the relevant stage, so later vacancies were not required to be filled. On the materials before it, the non-filling of those vacancies was not arbitrary or discriminatory, and the separate treatment of reserved vacancies was upheld as a policy decision based on relevant considerations.

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Issues: Whether a candidate whose name appears in the merit list acquires an indefeasible right to appointment against a vacancy and whether the decision not to fill later arising vacancies was arbitrary.

Analysis: Inclusion of a candidate's name in a select list does not by itself create a legal right to appointment. The relevant recruitment framework showed that the Government was empowered to determine cadre strength, the method of recruitment, and the vacancies to be filled, while the competitive examination regulations expressly stated that mere inclusion in the list did not confer a right to appointment and that selection remained subject to further requirements. The Court further found, on the materials before it, that the process of final selection had been validly closed at a particular stage and that the subsequent non-filling of later vacancies was not shown to be arbitrary or discriminatory. The different treatment accorded to reserved vacancies was upheld as based on special circumstances and a policy decision taken on relevant considerations.

Conclusion: The candidate had no indefeasible or vested right to appointment, and the challenge to the refusal to appoint from the later vacancies failed.

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