SHAILENDRA KUMAR PATEL Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted. The present appeal raises important questions concerning the interplay between the constitutional exercise of power by Public Service Commissions and the ultimate discretion of appointing authorities to appoint an individual. This appeal thus invites this Court to delineate the contours of their respective powers within the constitutional architecture governing public employment.

(2.) In this case, this Court is called upon to determine whether a candidate selected and recommended by the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (for short, "Commission ") acquires an indefeasible right to appointment and whether the State Government, prior to the issuance of a final appointment order, retains the authority to verify and reassess the candidate's eligibility after being found eligible and recommended by the Commission. Equally, this Court must examine whether the inquiry committee constituted by the State to reassess the eligibility of a recommended candidate acted within the confines of the governing statutory framework and whether the conclusions arrived at by it can withstand judicial scrutiny.

(3.) The present proceedings arise from the judgment and order dtd. 17/6/2025 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur in Writ Appeal No. 360 of 2025, affirming the common judgment and order dtd. 22/5/2025 rendered by the learned Single Judge in WPS No. 8005 of 2022 and WPS No. 7350 of 2023. The writ petitions were instituted by the Appellant challenging, firstly, the order dtd. 31/10/2022 issued by the State Government that declared him ineligible for appointment to the post of Registrar despite his selection and recommendation by the Commission, and secondly, the order dtd. 31/8/2023 posting him to the office of the Commissioner, Higher Education Department, instead of appointing him as a Registrar in a State University.