The Supreme Court of India has recently delivered a significant judgment in favor of candidates belonging to reserved categories such as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and Persons with Disabilities (PwD). The ruling states that candidates from these categories who secure higher marks than general category candidates are entitled to be considered under the general category based on merit.
This judgment arose from appeals filed by aggrieved reserved category candidates who were denied placement in the general category despite scoring higher marks than some selected general category candidates. The case pertains to the Teachers Aptitude and Intelligence Test (TAIT) 2022 conducted by the Maharashtra State Council for Education (MSCE). Earlier, the Bombay High Court had denied such migration.
The Supreme Court clarified that relaxations granted to reserved category candidates— such as age limits—affect only eligibility criteria and do not diminish merit. Therefore, in the absence of any explicit prohibition, migration to the general category is permissible when candidates qualify on merit.
In many instances, reserved category candidates benefit from eligibility relaxations but may still be excluded from general category selection, even when they outperform general category candidates. This judgment corrects that imbalance by affirming that merit must prevail.
The Court concluded that candidates who secure higher marks should be allowed to migrate to the general category, reinforcing fairness in recruitment processes.
This landmark ruling serves as an important precedent and an eye-opener for future government recruitment processes, ensuring that merit-based selection is upheld across categories.
