In a significant ruling that could reshape how reserve lists are treated in government recruitment, the Supreme Court on Thursday set aside three High Court orders that had directed appointments from waiting lists. The verdict came in appeals filed by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC), ending years of uncertainty for candidates who had knocked on the doors of the courts after missing out on appointments despite being placed on reserve lists.
Background of the Case
The controversy arose from three different recruitment processes conducted by the RPSC between 2013 and 2020.
In each case, candidates were selected and offered appointments. Some of them, however, did not join the posts. This opened up vacancies, and candidates placed in the waiting lists - including Yati Jain, Aakriti Saxena, and Vivek Kumar Meena - approached the Rajasthan High Court seeking appointment against those unfilled posts.
Single Judges of the High Court accepted their pleas and directed the authorities to pick their names from the reserve lists. The Division Bench later upheld these orders, noting that the candidates had moved the court within a reasonable time after vacancies arose.
Unhappy with these directions, the RPSC moved the Supreme Court, arguing that courts cannot compel appointments from waiting lists unless the rules clearly permit it.
Read also:- Retirement Can’t Be Rewritten Using Aadhaar: MP High Court Quashes Anganwadi Reinstatement
Court’s Observations
A Bench led by Justice Dipankar Datta carefully examined the role of waiting lists and the powers of courts in service matters.
The Bench made it clear that a waiting list is not a permanent source of recruitment. It exists only to meet limited contingencies - such as when selected candidates do not join - and even then, only within the framework of recruitment rules.
“The waiting list is not a reservoir to fill up vacancies endlessly,” the court observed, adding that candidates in such lists do not enjoy any automatic or indefeasible right to appointment.
On the question of whether the RPSC had the right to challenge the High Court orders - especially when the State government itself had not appealed - the Bench rejected the argument raised by the candidates.
Read also:- Can Law Graduates With Pending Criminal Cases Be Enrolled as Advocates? Madras HC Larger Bench to Decide
The judges noted that the Public Service Commission is a constitutional body, and any direction affecting recruitment without its recommendation directly impacts its legal duties.
“The Commission cannot be reduced to a silent spectator when its statutory role is diluted,” the court remarked.
What the Law Says About Waiting Lists
Referring to past judgments, the Supreme Court reiterated a settled principle of service law:
- Even a candidate in the main merit list has no guaranteed right to appointment.
- A candidate in the waiting list stands on an even weaker footing.
- Courts can interfere only if the authority acts in a clearly arbitrary or discriminatory manner - and even then, only while the waiting list is still valid under the rules.
In these cases, the Bench found that the High Court had gone beyond its limits by issuing direct commands to appoint candidates from reserve lists without any requisition from the appointing authority.
“The power to appoint rests with the State, and the power to recommend rests with the Commission. Courts cannot merge these two roles,” the judgment said.
Decision of the Court
After examining all three matters together, the Supreme Court allowed the appeals filed by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and set aside the High Court’s orders.
The Bench held that:
- The RPSC had the legal standing to challenge the directions.
- The candidates in the waiting lists did not acquire a right to appointment merely because selected candidates failed to join.
- Courts cannot issue a mandamus to “pick up” names from a reserve list unless the rules and the appointing authority support such action.
With this, the Supreme Court brought the long-running litigation to a close, firmly restoring the principle that waiting lists are only a limited safeguard - not a pathway to guaranteed government jobs.
Case Title: Rajasthan Public Service Commission vs Yati Jain & Ors.
Case No.: Civil Appeal Nos. 273–275 of 2026
Case Type: Service Law – Recruitment & Waiting List Dispute
Decision Date: 15 January 2026
