Horizontal reservation for women must be adjusted within each vertical category, not treated as a vertical quota.

Reservation for women under the service rules was required to operate as a horizontal reservation, to be applied within each vertical category by first drawing the merit list and then adjusting only the shortfall against the women quota. Women selected on their own merit within a vertical category had to be counted toward that quota, and the balance alone could be filled by further adjustment. Treating the quota as vertical led to excess selection in the general and OBC categories, so the selection process was incorrect to that extent. The Court declined to unsettle appointments already made, but granted limited relief, including appointment and seniority-related relief, to the eligible candidates who should have been selected.

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Issues: Whether reservation for women under the service rules was a horizontal reservation to be adjusted within each vertical category, and whether the selection list was vitiated by treating it as a vertical reservation.

Analysis: Reservation for women under the relevant rule was a category-wise horizontal reservation. A horizontal reservation cuts across vertical reservations and is to be worked out by first preparing the merit list within each vertical category and then adjusting the required number of women candidates against the shortfall. Women selected on their own merit within a vertical category must be counted towards the women quota, and only the deficit can be filled by further adjustment. The selection process adopted by the Commission wrongly treated the women quota as if it were a vertical reservation, resulting in excess selection of women candidates in the general and OBC categories. The Court also declined to disturb the entire selection and appointments already made, but granted relief to the candidates who would have been selected if the rule had been properly applied.

Conclusion: The women reservation quota had to be implemented as horizontal reservation, and the impugned selection was /impermissible to the extent it treated it as vertical reservation; the appeal succeeded only in part, with relief granted to the three candidates entitled to selection.

Final Conclusion: The impugned selection was corrected only to the limited extent necessary to grant appointment and seniority-related relief to the eligible candidates, without unsettling the appointments already made.

Ratio Decidendi: Horizontal reservation must be applied within each vertical category by counting candidates selected on merit against the horizontal quota and filling only the shortfall by adjustment.

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