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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Uday Umesh Lalit, Vineet Saran, JJ.
State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
Atul Kumar Dwivedi & Ors. - Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 228 of 2022(@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.29972 of 2019) With Civil Appeal No(S). 229 OF 2022 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.30456 of 2019), Civil Appeal No(S). 230 OF 2022 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.30607 of 2019), Civil Appeal No(S). 231 OF 2022 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.30552 of 2019), Civil Appeal No(S). 232 OF 2022 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.3157 of 2020), Civil Appeal No(S). 233 OF 2022 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.322 of 2022) (@D.No.13480 of 2020), Civil Appeal No(S). 234 OF 2022 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.323 of 2022) (@ D.No.14425 of 2020), Civil Appeal No(S).235 OF 2022 (@ Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.324 of 2022) (@ D.No.23718 of 2020)
Decided On : 07-01-2022
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. background of recruitment process for police selection. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. description of examination structure and scoring guidelines. (Para 4 , 5) |
| 3. challenges against the recruitment process normalization details. (Para 7) |
| 4. petitions filed contesting inclusion criteria based on scores. (Para 8 , 9 , 10) |
| 5. court's assertion on eligibility based on normalized scores. (Para 11 , 12 , 13) |
| 6. discussion on judicial review of normalization method. (Para 14 , 15 , 16) |
| 7. reevaluation of normalization in basis for scoring fairness. (Para 17 , 18 , 19) |
| 8. principles regarding competition in examinations with variable papers. (Para 20 , 21 , 22) |
| 9. conclusion of state's appeal decision on normalization applicability. (Para 23 , 24 , 25) |
| 10. final decision on the legality of normalization across different batches. (Para 26 , 27 , 28) |
JUDGMENT :
Uday Umesh Lalit, J.
Leave granted.
1. These appeals arise out of the final judgment and order dated 11.09.2019 passed by the High Court1[High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Writ Application No.23733 of 2018 and all other connected matters].
2. A notification was published by the State Government inviting online application forms from male candidates for filling up 2400 posts of Sub-Inspector of Police, 210 posts of Platoon Commander (PAC2[Provincial Armed Constabulary]) and 97 posts of Fire Officer (Grade-II) in Uttar Pradesh Police. The procedure for recruitment contemplated Online Written Examination, Physical Standard Test and Physical Fitness Test whereafter the final list of selected candidates would be published. The relevant portion of the notification dealing with online written examination was as under:
This recruitment is done under Uttar Pradesh Sub Inspector and Inspector (Police) Service (1st Amendment) Rulebook – 2015.
4.1 Online Written Examination
All the applicants whose application have been found to be correct and accepted will be expected to take up a 400 marks online written examination. This examination will contain question based on 4 subjects listed below and will be based on multiple choice type questions.
| Sr. No. | Subject | Maximum Marks |
| 1 | General Hindi | 100 Marks |
| 2 | Law/Constitution/General Knowledge | 100 Marks |
| 3 | Maths & Mental Ability Exam | 100 Marks |
| 4 | Mental Interest Examination/Brainstorming Examination/Logic-based Examination | 100 Marks |
4 Mental Interest Examination/Brainstorming Examination/Logic-based Examination 100 Marks
2.1 Similar notification was published on the same date with respect to 600 posts of Sub-Inspector (Nagrik Police) for female candidates. The recruitment procedure was dealt with in Para 4 of the notification and the portion dealing with “Online Written Examination” was identical to Para 4.1 quoted hereinabove.
3. In response to these advertisements, 6,30,926 applicants submitted their online application forms. Considering the large number of candidates who had offered their candidature, a notification was published on 28.6.2017, the translated portion of which was as under:
No.PRPB-Anu-6-P-18/2016
Dated: June 28, 2017
1. For the Males for the Direct Recruitment 2016 on the posts of the Sub- Inspector (Nagrik Police), Platoon Commander P
The scaling method used in examinations involving different optional subjects ensures equitable assessment and is legally supported, even if not explicitly mentioned in the rules.
The court held that procedural discrepancies and allegations, without substantial evidence of bias or systemic failure, do not merit interference with the integrity of the examination process.
The normalization is done based on the fundamental assumption that "in all multi-shift examinations, the distribution of abilities of candidates is the same across all the shifts
Public Service Commission - Civil service Examination - Public Service Commission have no power to relax the recruitment norms - Public Service Commission have no power to relax the recruitment norms
Point of law : appellants/petitioners cannot take advantage of the defective drafting of the Rule, as the position in the year 2016, is not the same as existing now. The earlier procedure followed by....
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