The Supreme Court has held that a government cannot scrap an ongoing recruitment midway just by issuing a policy.
The bench of Justice J.K. Maheshwari has observed that executive instructions such as the New Recruitment Policy (NRP), 2018 could not override statutory rules framed under the Tripura State Rifles Act, 1983 and the TSR Recruitment Rules, 1984.
The dispute arose when the State Government halted recruitment for 506 Enrolled Follower posts—which include roles such as cooks, barbers, sweepers, ward-boys, and other Class-IV duties—after a new political dispensation assumed office in March 2018.
The recruitment process had advanced considerably: physical and written tests, viva-voce, and provisional merit lists were already completed by late 2017.
However, citing the NRP, the Government issued an “Abeyance Memorandum” (March 14, 2018) and subsequently a “Cancellation Memorandum” (August 20, 2018), scrapping all ongoing recruitment except for judicial services.
Aggrieved candidates, including Partha Das and Sujan Roy, approached the High Court of Tripura, which dismissed their petitions in 2019. They then filed appeals before the Supreme Court.
The court has noted that Recruitment under the TSR Act and Rules had statutory force. The NRP, being an executive instruction under Article 166 of the Constitution, could supplement but not supplant these rules. Cancelling the recruitment after interviews and merit lists were finalized amounted to changing rules mid-process, which violated principles of fairness and non-arbitrariness under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. Clause (2) of the NRP made it clear that it would apply only prospectively. Applying it to an already ongoing recruitment was impermissible.
The Court found no material evidence to justify that cancelling the process served a “larger public interest.”
While reiterating that selection does not grant an indefeasible right to appointment (as held in Shankarsan Dash), the Court noted that candidates had a legitimate expectation that the recruitment would be completed fairly once they had undergone the statutory selection process.
The Supreme Court quashed the Cancellation Memorandum of August 20, 2018, and directed the State Government to complete the recruitment process within a specified timeframe.
Case Details
Case Title: Partha Das & Ors. Versus The State Of Tripura & Ors.
Case No.: Civil Appeal Nos. 4426-4466 Of 2023
Date: 28/08/2025
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