Prospective recruitment rules: no vested right to appointment once amended rules justify fresh recruitment under the new qualifications.

The amended recruitment rules validly changed the qualification for the post and operated prospectively. Candidates who had already taken the examination acquired no vested right to appointment merely because the selection process had begun and the written test was completed; at most, they had a legitimate expectation to be considered under the then-existing rules. Once the rules were amended before final selection, the State was entitled to withdraw the earlier notification and initiate recruitment afresh under the amended rules. The cited precedent was inapplicable because it concerned additional qualifications introduced after recruitment had already commenced, unlike the present case where the governing rules themselves were changed.

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Issues: Whether the amended recruitment rules prescribing revised qualifications operated prospectively so that the State could withdraw the earlier notification and proceed afresh on the basis of the amended rules.

Analysis: The recruitment rules were validly amended to alter the qualification for the post. The candidates who had taken the examination acquired no vested right to appointment merely because the earlier process had been initiated and the written test had been completed. Their position was only one of legitimate expectation to be considered under the rules then in force. Once the rules were changed, the Government was entitled to withdraw the earlier notification and conduct recruitment in accordance with the amended rules. The earlier decision relied upon had no application because that case dealt with additional qualifications introduced after recruitment had already been set in motion, whereas here the governing rules themselves were amended and the selection was to proceed afresh.

Conclusion: The amended rules were held to have prospective operation and the State was held entitled to withdraw the earlier recruitment notification and issue a fresh notification in accordance with the amended rules.

Ratio Decidendi: A candidate has no vested right to appointment from a recruitment process already initiated when the governing rules are amended before final selection, and the State may proceed afresh under the amended rules.

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