2013 (3) TMI 768

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

.... [Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation and Others v. Rajendra Bhimrao Mandve and Others [(2001) 10 SCC 51, Para 5] "... changing the rules of the game after the game was played ...is clearly impermissible" [K. Manjusree v. State of Andhra Pradesh and Another, (2008) 3 SCC 512, Para 27] 2. The above, and statements to the similar effect have petrified into a rule of law in the context of employment under the State or its instrumentalities. Whether such principle of law is immutable, what are those 'rules of the game' which cannot be changed after the game is either commenced or played, in our opinion requires an authoritative pronouncement by a larger Bench of this Court. 3. Such a question arises in the case in hand in the back....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

.... Service Rules (referred to earlier) of the first respondent High Court as on the date of initiation of the recruitment process in question (i.e. 17th September, 2009). It appears that such a prescription had existed earlier under the Rules, but by an amendment, the said prescription was dropped with effect from 14th July, 2004. 8. Therefore, the appellants challenged the selection process on the ground that the decision of the Chief Justice to select only those candidates who secured a minimum of 75% marks would amount to "changing the rules of the game after the game is played" - a cliché whose true purport is required to be examined notwithstanding the declaration of this Court in Manjusree's case (supra) that it is "clearly impe....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....Any other legal right or obligation could be created, altered, extinguished retrospectively by the sovereign law making bodies. However such drastic power is required to be exercised in a manner that it does not conflict with any other constitutionally guaranteed rights, such as, Articles 14 and 16 etc. Changing the 'rules of game' either midstream or after the game is played is an aspect of retrospective law making power. 13. Those various cases [a). C. Channabasavaih v. State of Mysore [AIR 1965 SC 1293], State of Haryana v. Subash Chander Marwaha and Others [(1974) 3 SCC 220], P.K. Ramachandra Iyer v. Union of India [(1984) 2 SCC 141] and Umesh Chandra Shukla v. Union of India [(1985) 3 SCC 721], Durgacharan Misra v. State of Orissa [....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

.... the present case or calling upon the candidates to undergo some test relevant to the nature of the employment [such as driving test as was the case in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (supra)]. 14. If the principle of Manjusree's case (supra) is applied strictly to the present case, the respondent High Court is bound to recruit 13 of the "best" candidates out of the 21 who applied irrespective of their performance in the examination held. 15. In such cases, theoretically it is possible that candidates securing very low marks but higher than some other competing candidates may have to be appointed. In our opinion, application of the principle as laid down in Manjusree case (supra) without any further scrutiny would not be in t....