SC Clears Path for Completion of Long-Pending Jail Warders’ Recruitment in J&K
New Delhi, Jan 10: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to interfere with a Jammu and Kashmir High Court judgment directing the completion of a long-pending recruitment process for Jail Warders that was initiated nearly two decades ago.
A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, observing that it was “not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court.” With this, the SLP and all pending applications were disposed of.
The plea challenged a December 21, 2023 verdict of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, which had upheld an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) quashing the cancellation of the 2005 recruitment process for 73 Warder posts in the Prisons Department.
In its detailed judgment, the High Court had strongly criticised the authorities for cancelling the recruitment after it had substantially progressed and for leaving the posts vacant for several years. A Bench of Justices Tashi Rabstan and Rajesh Sekhri noted that eligible candidates had applied pursuant to the advertisement, cleared physical and outdoor tests in 2010, and later appeared in literacy tests and document verification in January 2011. However, the final results were never declared.
The High Court observed that the authorities had kept the matter pending for more than 13 years before cancelling the entire selection process in February 2019 on the ground of alleged procedural irregularities. Rejecting this justification, the court pointed out that even the Department of Law had twice advised that once a selection process had reached such an advanced stage, it could not be withdrawn.
“Once the selection process has almost been completed, the authorities were not expected to act arbitrarily in cancelling it, that too after such a long period when the posts have remained vacant since 2005,” the High Court had held.
The court further ruled that any procedural irregularities, if present, could have been rectified without cancelling the entire process, noting that there were no allegations of illegality, malpractice, or use of unfair means by the candidates.
Highlighting the plight of aspirants who had been waiting for nearly two decades, the High Court directed the authorities to complete the recruitment process within three months and adopt a “sympathetic view,” as most candidates had crossed the age limit and had little scope for alternative employment.
Senior advocate Dr Anindita Pujari, along with a team of advocates, represented 172 candidates before the Supreme Court.
With the apex court’s refusal to interfere, the High Court’s directions have now attained finality, effectively clearing the way for completion of the long-stalled Jail Warders’ recruitment in the Jammu and Kashmir Prisons Department.
