The Supreme Court of India has set aside a Telangana High Court judgment and allowed the Transmission Corporation of Telangana State Limited (TS-Transco) to go ahead with its fresh recruitment notification issued in 2017 for Sub-Engineer (Electrical) posts.
Case Background
The dispute began with the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation (AP-Transco), which had issued recruitment notifications in 2011–12 for 339 Sub-Engineer posts. The selection process was delayed due to litigation over weightage marks given to in-service candidates. In the meantime, Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated in 2014, leading to the creation of TS-Transco for Telangana.
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Following bifurcation, TS-Transco issued a new notification on 28 December 2017 for recruiting 174 Sub-Engineers in Telangana and cancelled the earlier notifications of 2011–12. Many candidates who had cleared earlier exams challenged this decision before the High Court.
In March 2020, the Telangana High Court held that the cancellation of the 2011–12 recruitment process was illegal. It directed TS-Transco to continue with the old selection process and issue appointment letters to the qualified candidates.
The court stated:
“The decision of T.S. TRANSCO declaring that the earlier recruitment notifications had lapsed is unsustainable. The corporation must continue the selection process and issue appointment letters to the selected candidates.”
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The Supreme Court bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi disagreed with the High Court. It noted that the earlier process had already been delayed due to legal disputes, and after the bifurcation, TS-Transco had the right to reassess its staffing needs and conduct a fresh recruitment.
The apex court observed:
“A selected candidate does not have a vested right to appointment. Any decision not to fill vacancies must be taken bona fide and for valid reasons. TS-Transco considered legitimate expectations by granting age relaxation so that earlier candidates could participate in the fresh selection.”
The court also highlighted that the structure of zones and reservation ratios had changed after bifurcation, making the continuation of the old process impractical.
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The Supreme Court ruled that TS-Transco’s decision to cancel the earlier notifications and issue a fresh one in 2017 was valid. It set aside the High Court’s directions and allowed the corporation to proceed with recruitment as per the 2017 notification.
It also dismissed appeals from candidates who failed in the new exam but sought merging of cancelled vacancies with new ones.
Case Title: The Transmission Corporation of Telangana State Limited & Anr. vs. Chukkala Kranthi Kiran & Ors.
Citation: 2025 INSC 1029
Case Type: Civil Appeal (@ SLP (C) Nos. 11149, 11481, 11170, 12599 of 2020 & 761 of 2021)
Date of Judgment: 22 August 2025
