Share FacebookTwitterWhatsAppPinterestLinkedinCopy URLTelegramEmailTumblrReddItPrintKoo NEW DELHI, Jan 16: The Supreme Court today said that candidates from reserved categories who secure higher marks than the general category cutoff must be adjusted against unreserved seats. Reaffirming the landmark legal principle, a bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma said, “It is now a settled proposition of law that a candidate belonging to reserve category (SC, ST and OBC) who has scored marks higher than the cut off marks for the General Category is to be treated as having qualified against an open or unreserved vacant post.” The bench made the observations while setting aside a 2020 judgment by the Kerala High Court, which had previously directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to appoint an unreserved candidate by excluding meritorious reserved category (MRC) candidates from the general list. Justice Sharma, who authored the judgment, said the “unreserved” category is not a “quota” for general candidates but an “open” pool available to all based strictly on merit.
