Summary
Candidates still serving in the Army on the recruitment closing date sought ex-serviceman status using a later correction window. The Court held that the press note permitted correction of existing applications without shifting eligibility. It nevertheless protected those already appointed and joined under High Court orders through Article 142.
Issues
- Whether a later application-correction window shifted the recruitment eligibility date.
- Whether the 2019 rule extending eligibility to personnel due to retire within a year operated retrospectively and what protection existing appointees should receive.
Held
- The November 2014 press note invited corrections and category changes in existing applications, rather than fresh applications or newly acquired eligibility. It could not make a candidate eligible as an ex-serviceman when that status was absent on the original closing date. (¶ 8)
- The May 2019 amendment created a new right for personnel retiring within the forthcoming year. It was neither retrospective nor merely clarificatory and did not validate the earlier claims. (¶ 9)
- Under Article 142, Army personnel already appointed and joined in the ex-servicemen category pursuant to the Division Bench orders were allowed to continue. No further candidate could be appointed under those orders. (¶ 10)
Result
Appeals allowed and the Division Bench orders set aside, with protection for candidates already appointed and joined under them. No additional appointments were permitted on that basis.