TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (7) TMI 59
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.... Mr. Satya Sindhu Kashyap, Senior Panel Counsel Mr. Deepak Gochhayat, Central Government Counsel JUDGMENT HARISH TANDON, CJ.- The matter is taken up out of turn on the prayer of the parties citing urgency as one of the Members of the Search-cum-Selection Committee constituted under the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Appointment and Conditions of Services of President and Members) Rules, 2023 (hereafter be referred to as "the Rules, 2023") is likely to demit Office on and from 30th June, 2025. 2. An application, I.A. No.10243 of 2025, for vacation/modification and/or recalling of the order dated 30th May, 2025 is taken out; in addition thereto the pleadings have also been exchanged by the parties so that the Court may....
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....up, including the following- (a) number of existing and anticipated vacancies; (b) qualifications; (c) salary and allowances; (d) format for application; and (e) last date for filing of applications, in Form-I after making such modifications as may be deemed fit by the Committee. (2) The Committee shall scrutinise, or cause to be scrutinised, every application received in response to the circular, against the qualifications and may shortlist such number of eligible candidates for personal interaction as it may deem fit. (3) For the post of President, the Committee may, either cause a vacancy circular to be issued and call for applications or search for suitable persons eligible ....
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....t said Committee constituted on 5th July, 2024 after exhausting the procedures as mandated in Rule 3 of the said Rules, 2023 shortlisted the candidates for personal interaction and the petitioner was included as one of the candidates and in fact, appeared for personal interaction. 4.3. The said Committee was reconstituted on 24th April, 2025 as the Chairperson of the earlier constituted Committee showed his inability to continue in such capacity. The reconstituted Committee as the tenet of the said Office Memorandum dated 24th April, 2025 suggests scrutinized the applications upon obtaining the feedback or the opinion from the Intelligence Bureau and selected the candidates for personal interaction. Since the petitioner was kept outside ....
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....rsonal interaction by the Committee after the scrutiny of the applications for the shortlisting the candidates. Sub-rule (4) of Rule 3 though applied at a particular stage, yet it imbibes within itself several aspects to be borne in mind before the Committee recommended the name(s) of the candidate to be appointed as a Member. 4.6. There is no quarrel to the proposition of law that mere offering the candidature in a public employment does not create indefeasible or inchoate right into the appointment. Even a person, whose name is included in the select list, cannot claim a vested right on appointment. It is within the prerogative of the Committee or the Appointing Authorities to appoint a person to a post subject to the fulfillment of th....
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.... of India v. Kali Dass Batish reported in (2006) 1 SCC 779 observed that once the Constitutional Authority has accepted the report submitted by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and did not find the candidate to be suitable to hold a highly responsible post, there is no justification in discarding such opinions expressed by the Constitutional Authority in the following: "14. Unfortunately, the High Court seems to have proceeded on the footing that the appointment was being made on its own by the Central Government and that there was an irregular procedure followed by the Secretary by giving undue importance to the IB report. It was most irregular on the part of the High Court to have sat in appeal over the issues raised in the IB report....
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.... 15. In this matter, the approach adopted by the Jharkhand High Court commends itself to us. The Jharkhand High Court approached the matter on the principle that judicial review is not available in such a matter. The Jharkhand High Court also rightly pointed out that mere inclusion of a candidate's name in the selection list gave him no right, and if there was no right, there could be no occasion to maintain a writ petition for enforcement of a non-existing right." 5.3. The Authority has to act within the precincts of the provisions of the law and in the event there is no express fetter put in the Authority if the reconstituted Search-cum-Selection Committee decided to start the process de novo, we do not find any statutory obstacles....