Reserved candidates who clear general cut-off to be counted in unreserved: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that reserved-category candidates who clear the general category cut-off without relaxation must be considered under the unreserved category at the screening stage. The ruling came in a recruitment case involving the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission.The Allahabad High Court has ruled that reserved-category candidates who clear the general category cut-off without relaxation must be considered under the unreserved category at the screening stage. (Photo - AI-generated)Lucknow,Sep 30, 2026 11:40 ISTThe Allahabad High Court has ruled that reserved-category candidates who score above the general category cut-off in a recruitment examination, without using any relaxation in the qualifying standard, must be treated as unreserved candidates at the screening stage.The Lucknow bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla passed the order on Tuesday while allowing a special appeal filed by Bhavna Yadav and others. The ruling concerns recruitment for the post of Swasthya Shiksha Adhikari through the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC).WHY THE COURT SET ASIDE THE CONDITIONThe dispute arose from a UPPSC recruitment advertisement dated December 22, 2025. It stated that reserved-category candidates could be adjusted against unreserved vacancies only at the final selection stage, provided they had not availed any concession in the qualifying standard during screening.The petitioners challenged this condition and a related office memorandum. The court noted that screening examination marks carry significant weight in the final selection process. Under the recruitment rules, 75 per cent of the marks come from the screening examination and 25 per cent from the interview.WHAT THE RESERVATION LAW SAYSThe bench held that Section 3(6) of the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 1994, does not restrict the movement of meritorious reserved-category candidates into the unreserved category to the final selection stage alone. The court set aside the relevant condition in the recruitment advertisement and held that the office memorandum would not apply to the recruitment in question.UPPSC, STATE GOVERNMENT GIVEN THREE MONTHSThe court directed the UPPSC to review the applicability of the office memorandum within three months. It also asked the Uttar Pradesh government to formulate and clarify its policy on the issue within the same period.The ruling addresses how candidates who qualify on merit in open competition should be categorised during recruitment, while preserving the distinction between candidates who qualify without relaxation and those who use concessions under reservation rules.- Ends