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Under the recruitment rules, 75 per cent of the marks obtained in the screening exam and 25 per cent of the interview marks are considered for preparing the final merit list.
The Allahabad HC said screening-test marks significantly affect final selection and are not merely for shortlisting. (Representational/File Photo)
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday held that meritorious candidates belonging to reserved categories must be considered under the unreserved category at the screening stage itself if they score above the minimum cut-off prescribed for unreserved candidates without availing any relaxation or concession.
A Lucknow bench comprising Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla passed the order while allowing a special appeal filed by Bhavna Yadav and others.
The court observed that marks obtained in the screening examination have a substantial bearing on the final selection and that the screening test in the recruitment in question was not merely a preliminary or shortlisting exercise, reported PTI.
Under the recruitment rules, 75 per cent of the marks obtained in the screening examination and 25 per cent of the interview marks are considered for preparing the final merit list. The court therefore held that the screening examination forms an integral part of the selection process.
The case relates to recruitment for the post of Swasthya Shiksha Adhikari.
In its December 22, 2025 advertisement, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) had provided that reserved-category candidates would be adjusted against unreserved vacancies only at the final selection stage, provided they had not availed any benefit or concession in the qualifying standard at the screening stage.
The petitioners challenged this condition as well as the Commission’s January 9, 2020 office memorandum.
The High Court 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 migration or adjustment of meritorious reserved-category candidates to the unreserved category only to the final selection stage.
The court also held that the January 9, 2020 office memorandum would not apply to the recruitment in question and set aside the relevant condition in the advertisement.
The Commission has been directed to review the applicability of the office memorandum within three months. The state government has also been asked to formulate and clarify its policy on the issue within the same period.
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Ask News18The Allahabad High Court held that meritorious candidates belonging to reserved categories who score above the general category minimum cut-off without availing any concessions must be treated under the unreserved category at the screening stage itself rather than only at the final selection stage.
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