IMPORTANT POINT
Waiting list comes into operation when appointed candidates do not join or relinquish their post. Where there is no waiting list, such vacancies need to advertised next.

Headnote:Service law – Recruitment – Four State corporations simultaneously advertising posts of Assistant Engineers – Meritorious candidates getting selected in all the four corporations – Clause 8 and 9 of G.O.Ms. dated 22.02.1997 and letter dated 01.06.2016 – Selected candidate required to get his certificates verified before issue of appointment order – Thus if a candidate gets his certificate verified at one corporation and gets appointment order, he would not go to another corporation for verification of certificates – GOM prescribing no waiting list and selection to be made equal to the number of posts notified – Means, if after issue of appointment order the person appointed does not join, then the vacancy cannot be filled up on the basis of the waiting list or by operating the merit list downwards – The vacancy has to be advertised afresh – GOMs would come into operation only after appointment letters were issued. (Para 11, 15)
       W.P. No.24944 of 2013 – Cited with approval
       Service law – Recruitment – Waiting list – Comes into operation when appointed candidates do not join or relinquish their post – Instantly there being no waiting list, such vacancies need to advertised next. (Para 15, 16)
       Facts of the case:
       Various electric supply and generation companies in the State of Telangana viz., Telangana State Transmission Company Limited, TSTRANSCO, Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSNPDCL), Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) and Telangana State Generation Company (TSGENCO) issued separate advertisements inviting applications for the posts of Assistant Engineer (Electrical) and Assistant Engineer (Civil). All but one of the advertisements provided that there will be no waiting list as per G.O.Ms. No. 81, General Administration (Ser. A) Department, dated 22.02.1997. Selection was to be based only on the basis of written examination. Thereafter, on the basis of merit drawn, community wise, the candidates were to be offered selection.
       All the tests were conducted at about the same time and the result was that the more brilliant candidates found their names in the select list of more than one Corporation. Many candidates were selected in more than one Corporation being high up in the merit list. On 01.06.2016, clarification was issued by the Government of Telangana that the Corporations were free to fill up the left over notified (advertised) vacancies by operating the merit list downwards for each category.
       After this clarification was issued, the private respondents (original writ petitioners) filed two writ petitions. Their main challenge was that in terms of G.O.Ms. dated 22.02.1997, which was incorporated in the advertisement, there was to be no waiting list and, hence, there was no question of operating the merit list downwards.
       The writ petition was allowed and the writ appeals were dismissed.
       Finding of the Court:
       High Court misread the GOMs.
       Result : Appeals allowed.

JUDGMENT

Deepak Gupta, J.

Applications for impleadment are allowed.

2. Leave granted.

3. These appeals are directed against the judgment dated 29.08.2016 whereby the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the writ appeals filed by the present appellants and upheld the judgment of the learned Single Judge allowing the writ petitions.

4. Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that various electric supply and generation companies in the State of Telangana viz., Telangana State Transmission Company Limited, TSTRANSCO, Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSNPDCL), Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) and Telangana State Generation Company (TSGENCO), hereinafter referred to as the ‘Corporation(s)’, issued separate advertisements inviting applications for the posts of Assistant Engineer (Electrical) and Assistant Engineer (Civil). The applications were invited online. All but one of the advertisements provided that there will be no waiting list as per G.O.Ms. No. 81, General Administration (Ser. A) Department, dated 22.02.1997. Selection was to be based only on the basis of written examination. Thereafter, on the basis of merit drawn, community wise, the candidates were to be offered selection.

5. All the tests were conducted at about the same time and the result was that the more brilliant candidates found their names in the select list of more than one Corporation. Many candidates were selected in more than one Corporation being high up in the merit list. On 01.06.2016, clarification was issued by the Government of Telangana that the Corporations were free to fill up the left over notified (advertised) vacancies by operating the merit list downwards for each category.

6. After this clarification was issued, the private respondents (original writ petitioners) filed two writ petitions. Their main challenge was that in terms of G.O.Ms. dated 22.02.1997, which was incorporated in the advertisement, there was to be no waiting list and, hence, there was no question of operating the merit list downwards. According to the original writ petitioners, all the posts lying vacant would have to be filled up in the subsequent selection process. The High Court held that since in the advertisement the G.O.Ms. No. 81 was specifically referred to and it was mentioned that there would be no waiting list, the Corporations could not be permitted to operate the merit list downwards and the vacancies, if any left, would have to be filled in the subsequent selection process. The Court also held that the letter dated 01.06.2016 relaxing the provision, is contrary to the earlier notification and, therefore, quashed the same. Consequently, the writ court allowed the writ petitions.

7. Aggrieved by the said judgment, writ appeals were filed by the candidates, who would have been selected if the merit list was permitted to be applied downwards. These writ appeals were dismissed and, hence, the present appeals.

8. We have heard learned senior counsel/learned counsel for the parties. At the outset, it may be noted that TSNPDCL had issued advertisement for filling up 164 vacancies, TSGENCO had issued advertisement for filling up 856 vacancies, TSSPDCL had issued advertisement for 201 vacancies and TSTRANSCO issued an advertisement to fill up 206 posts. The examinations were conducted by these Corporations on 08.11.2015, 14.11.2015, 22.11.2015 and 29.11.2015 respectively. The results were declared almost simultaneously in which many of the candidates got selected in more than one Corporation. This led to a situation where the candidate selected in more than one Corporation exercised his or her prerogative to produce certificates for verification of qualification, caste etc. before one Corporation. Since the applications had been invited online, the certificates had to be produced after the written test was conducted.

9. It appears that faced with a situation where many posts would have remained vacant, t

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2017 Supreme(SC) 760

IMPORTANT POINTWaiting list comes into operation when appointed candidates do not join or relinquish their post. Where there is no waiting list, such vacancies need to advertised next.

IMPORTANT POINT
Waiting list comes into operation when appointed candidates do not join or relinquish their post. Where there is no waiting list, such vacancies need to advertised next.