The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday set aside a Patna High Court ruling that had reinstated a trainee Senior Section Engineer (SSE) in the Railways despite his repeated failure in mandatory training examinations. The apex court made it clear that completing the full 52-week training, including the written test at the end, was a precondition for permanent appointment.
Background
The case stemmed from the recruitment process of 2014, when Alok Kumar, an OBC category candidate, was selected as a trainee SSE (Electrical/Drawing) under the Railway Recruitment Board, Muzaffarpur. He completed 46 weeks of training but stumbled at the final leg—the General and Subsidiary Rules (G&SR) training and examination. After failing the test in his first attempt in November 2017, he was granted a second chance without stipend in March 2018. Unfortunately, he failed again. His services were terminated in January 2019, followed by a demand for refund of ₹1.53 lakh stipend wrongly paid during the second attempt.
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Kumar’s challenge to the termination before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Patna, failed. But in 2023, the Patna High Court set aside the termination, ruling that no “departmental examination” had been prescribed for the post of SSE.
Court’s Observations
The Supreme Court bench, led by Justice Vijay Bishnoi, disagreed with the High Court’s interpretation. It stressed that the Railway’s Master Circular of 1991 clearly required trainees to clear a written test at the end of training before being absorbed. “Otherwise, it is difficult to comprehend how, in the absence of any test, it can be possible to ascertain whether a candidate has acquired sufficient training or not,” the bench observed.
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The judges also underlined the difference between “recruitment” and “appointment.” Citing earlier precedents, the court said recruitment is only the initial process, while appointment happens only after successful training.
On the issue of alleged discrimination, where Kumar claimed some of his batchmates got appointed without undergoing G&SR training, the bench noted that RTI records showed those candidates had in fact completed the full 52-week programme. Hence, the allegation was “incorrect and misleading.”
Decision
The apex court concluded that the Railway authorities acted within the rules when they terminated Kumar’s services after two failed attempts. The Patna High Court’s order was overturned, and his writ petition dismissed.
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However, the bench gave partial relief by rejecting the Railway’s demand for recovery of the stipend. Since the money was released due to an “administrative inadvertence” and not because of any fraud or misrepresentation by Kumar, the court held that asking him to return it “cannot be justified.”
With these directions, the appeal was disposed of.
Case Title: Union of India & Ors. vs. Alok Kumar (Supreme Court of India, 2025)
