Supreme Court Says Meritorious Reserved Candidates Must Be Counted Against Open Posts

Overview

• A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma ruled that SC, ST and OBC candidates scoring above the general cutoff must be adjusted to unreserved vacancies.
• The court set aside a 2020 Kerala High Court order in an Airports Authority of India recruitment case that had excluded high-scoring reserved-category candidates from the general list.
• The judgment describes a "Merit Induced Shift," stating the unreserved category is open to all on merit rather than a quota for so‑called general candidates.
• Reserved-category candidates who qualify without relaxations such as age or fee concessions must be counted as open candidates, preserving reserved seats for the next most meritorious within those categories.
• The clarification is expected to guide government recruiters, with bodies including AAI likely to revisit vacancy allocation and appointment decisions to ensure compliance.