HC quashes socio-economic criteria prospectively

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has clarified that the 2024 judgment striking down the bonus marks granted under the “socio-economic criteria” would operate prospectively and would not affect selections made in earlier recruitment processes.

Dismissing a plea seeking revision of inter-se seniority on the basis of the quashing of the criteria, the Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Meenakshi I. Mehta asserted: “The earlier ‘socio-economic criteria’, which was introduced in 2018, has not been discussed in our judgment and would, therefore, only have a prospective effect with effect from the date the notification dated May 5, 2022, has come into operation.”

The court was hearing a petition seeking revision of the seniority list prepared under the 2018 recruitment advertisement by deleting the bonus marks awarded under the now-invalidated criteria. The petitioner had contended that the judgment in the case of “Sukriti Malik versus State of Haryana” — which quashed the socio-economic criteria introduced vide amendment notification dated May 5, 2022— should be applied retrospectively.

The Bench rejected the contention, making it clear that the judgment in Sukriti Malik, though wide-ranging in its consequences for future recruitment, did not invalidate appointments made prior to the 2022 amendment.

“The judgment passed by this court nowhere intended to disturb the earlier selections, which have been made,” the Bench ruled, reiterating that seniority was required to be based on merit secured during the selection process as per the criteria applicable at the time.

The Bench asserted: “Once he has been selected and placed at a particular position in the merit, his seniority would also be assigned accordingly. There is no reason, therefore, to disturb his seniority… merely because subsequently we have quashed the ‘socio-economic criteria’ introduced by the Government of Haryana.”

Haryana Tribune