In a firm rebuke to post-hoc improvisation in public recruitment, the Supreme Court shut down the Jammu & Kashmir Services Selection Board’s attempt to rework its evaluation formula after interviewing candidates for Forester posts. The message was crisp: once candidates finish the race, you can’t redraw the track.
The controversy began with the Board’s notification for 38 Forester vacancies—requiring nothing more than a 10+2 science qualification and adherence to physical standards. Lacking formal recruitment rules, the Board devised its own scoring system, allotting 25 marks to those holding a B.Sc. Forestry degree.
But after the interviews had concluded, the Board abruptly decided that not all Forestry degrees were equal—splitting them into 3-year courses (worth 20 marks) and 4-year courses (worth 25 marks). This mid-stream recalibration immediately disadvantaged candidates with 3-year degrees, despite all applicants meeting the advertised eligibility.
Those affected challenged the move. Though a Single Judge initially declined relief, the Division Bench restored balance, ruling that the Board had crossed a legal boundary by altering criteria after the selection process had effectively concluded.
The Supreme Court agreed, noting that the Board had changed the “rules of the game” at the very end—an action neither transparent nor connected to any legitimate recruitment objective, especially when the minimum qualification for the job was merely 10+2 with science.
The bench pointed out that physical capability and viva-voce performance were central to the role, making the late introduction of a distinction between 3- and 4-year Forestry degrees both unnecessary and unfair. Altering the scheme on the basis of candidate representations, the Court observed, only further weakened its legitimacy.
With that, the appeal was dismissed, and the High Court’s directive stood firm—reiterating a principle that recruitment bodies across the country would do well to remember: once the final lap is over, the scoreboard stays exactly as it is.
