JUDGMENT :

DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, J.

This judgment has been divided into the following sections:

A Broad contours of the litigation

B Factual background

C Proceedings before the Tribunal

D Proceedings before the Delhi High Court

E Submissions

F The position in law

G The present case

A Broad contours of the litigation

1. Leave granted.

2. This judgment visits a familiar conundrum in service jurisprudence. The constitutional values which undergird Articles 14 and 16 mandate that selection processes conducted by public authorities to make recruitments have to be fair, transparent and accountable. All too often, human fallibility and foibles intrude into the selection processes. Selection involves intense competition and there is no dearth of individuals who try and bend the rules to gain an unfair leap in the race. Irregularities in the process give rise to misgivings over whether the process has denied equal access to all persons. The sanctity of the selection process comes under a cloud. The detection of individual wrongdoing by candidates may result in action being taken to exclude those whose credentials or performance is tainted. But when the entire process is tainted, the authority in c