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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, Alok Aradhe, JJ
Chaya & Ors. Etc. – Appellants
Versus
The State Of Maharashtra & Anr. Etc. – Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos. 3647-3669 of 2026 (@ SLP (C) Nos. 14517 - 14539 OF 2025)
Decided On : 23-03-2026
(A) Reservation – Legal Principles – Concession/relaxation in a qualifying examination merely enables entry of a candidate into zone of consideration and cannot be treated as relaxation in standard prescribed for qualifying written examination if such relaxation does not affect merit which has to be determined solely on the basis of performance in main examination and interview – Relaxation or concession in qualifying examination merely creates a level playing field where no concession or relaxation is granted in ultimate selection and same is solely made on the basis of inter se merit – If a candidate belonging to a reserved category, does not fulfil essential eligibility criteria prescribed for a selection, he/she cannot be permitted to migrate to open category – Migration of a reserved category candidate who has availed of concession/relaxation in qualifying examination depends on Recruitment Rules or employment notification – If such Recruitment Rules or employment notification permits such migration, same is permissible – Such migration shall also be permissible if Recruitment Rules or employment notification are either silent or do not expressly prohibit it. (Para 19)
(B) Service Law – Reservation – Recruitment of School Teachers – Appellants, though more meritorious, were excluded from merit list on the ground that they had availed of relaxation in qualifying marks in Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) – Appellants who are more meritorious than last selected candidate under general category, cannot be excluded from consideration under general category, in absence of any express prohibition in Recruitment Rules/notification – Relaxation in qualifying criteria only affects eligibility and not merit and migration is permissible in absence of any prohibition – Appellants to be included in merit list. (Paras 32 and 33)
Facts of the case:
Present appeals arise out of the common judgment dated 14.02.2025, passed by High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad (High Court). Appellants belonging to reserved categories, had challenged merit list dated 25.02.2024 prepared pursuant to Teachers Aptitude and Intelligence Test, 2022 (TAIT), conducted by Maharashtra State Council for Education (MSCE) for recruitment of teachers to different schools of Zila Parishad, Municipal Corporations, Nagar Parishad and Private Managements. High Court by impugned judgment has dismissed writ petitions.
Findings of Court:
Impugned judgment dated 14.02.2025, is quashed and set aside. Respondents shall include in merit list, those appellants who have secured marks higher than last selected candidate in general category.
Result : Appeals allowed.
JUDGMENT :
ALOK ARADHE, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. These appeals arise out of the common judgment dated 14.02.2025, passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad (High Court). The appellants belonging to reserved categories, had challenged the merit list dated 25.02.2024 prepared pursuant to Teachers Aptitude and Intelligence Test, 2022 (TAIT), conducted by Maharashtra State Council for Education (MSCE) for recruitment of teachers to the different schools of Zila Parishad, Municipal Corporations, Nagar Parishad and Private Managements. The High Court by impugned judgment has dismissed the writ petitions.
3. The appellants, though more meritorious, were excluded from the merit list dated 25.02.2024 on the ground that they had availed of relaxation in the qualifying marks in Teachers Eligibility Test (TET).
4. Various decisions of this Court have given rise to lengthy submissions before us. However, the controversy in the present batch of appeals lies in a narrow compass. The principal issue is whether candidates belonging to reserved categories, who have availed relaxation in a qualifying examination to become eligible for the main selection process, are entitled to migrate to the open/unreserved category on the basis of merit secured in the main examination.
STATUTORY SCHEME
5. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (Act) is an Act to provide for free and compulsory education to children aged six to fourteen years. Section 23 of the Act stipulates that only persons possessing such minimum qualifications, as prescribed by an academic authority authorized by the Central Government, are eligible for appointment as teachers. The Central Government constituted the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) on 23.08.2010 as the apex body to prescribe the minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers. By notification dated 23.08.2010, issued under Section 23(1) of the Act, the NCTE prescribed the minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers from class I to VIII, in a school referred to in Section 2(n) of the Act and mandated qualification in TET conducted by the appropriate Government in accordance with its guidelines.
FACTS
6. The NCTE issued guidelines on 11.02.2011, for conducting TET under the Act. Clause 9 of the guidelines prescribes the qualifying marks for passing the test. The State of Maharashtra by a Government Resolution dated 13.02.2013, laid down the policy and procedure relating to recruitment of teachers in the State. The aforesaid Resolution aligned the recruitment process with the qualification prescribed by the NCTE. Subsequent Government Resolutions dated 23.08.2013, 23.06.2017 and 10.11.2022 clarified procedural aspects relating to recruitment, eligibility, implementation of reservation, conduct of recruitment examination and preparation of merit lists.
7. The MSCE issued a notification dated 31.01.2023 for conducting TAIT-2022, between 22.02.2023 to 03.03.2023. Para 5 of the aforesaid notification deals with eligibility of the candidates and Para 5.3 provides that candidates must possess required educational and professional qualification as per Government Resolution dated 07.02.2019 and clarifications dated 25.02.2019, 16.05.2019 and 12.06.2019 and subsequent orders issued by the Government. Thus, the recruitment of the teachers was to be based on the marks obtained in TAIT. The appellants participated in the aforesaid examination. The merit list was published on 25.02.2024 on an online portal excluding their names despite securing higher marks than the last selected general category candidate.
8. The appellants submitted representations through an e-mail on 26.02.2024, which failed to evoke any response. They thereafter filed writ petitions challenging the merit list dated 25.02.2024 and their exclusion from consideration under the open category.
9. The High Court by the impugned judgment dated 14.02.2025, inter alia held that passing TET is a mandatory prer
(1) Reservation – Relaxation or concession in qualifying examination merely creates a level playing field where no concession or relaxation is granted in ultimate selection and same is solely made on....
Reserved category candidates who received eligibility concessions cannot migrate to the unreserved category based on merit scores, as this would undermine educational standards.
Reserved category candidates who availed eligibility concessions cannot migrate to the unreserved category based on merit scores, as it undermines educational standards.
The court ruled that reserved category candidates who availed age relaxation cannot migrate to general category vacancies, ensuring adherence to equal treatment principles.
Passing the TET examination is a necessary qualification for appointment as a teacher, and denial based on marks below 60% for unreserved category is not legally valid.
The court held that the reservation process must integrate all qualifying evaluations to ensure equitable treatment for candidates from reserved and unreserved categories, as mandated by law.
It is well-established that an authority cannot make any selection/appointment beyond the number of posts advertised, even if there were a larger number of posts available than those advertised.
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