Rupesh Kumar Meena v. Union of India 2026 INSC 119

Basic Case Details

Case name: Rupesh Kumar Meena v. Union of India & OthersNeutral citation: 2026 INSC 119 Court: Supreme Court of India, Civil Appellate JurisdictionCoram: Rajesh Bindal, J. and Atul S. Chandurkar, J.Judgment date: 4 February 2026

Statutes / Laws Referred

The judgment refers generally to:

• Civil Services Examination / Combined Civil Services Examination (UPSC process).
• Cadre allocation of Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Administrative Service (IAS), handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Brief Summary

The appellant, an IPS officer of the 2004 batch allotted to the Tamil Nadu cadre, claimed a right to be reallocated to an ‘insider’ Scheduled Tribe vacancy in the Rajasthan cadre after two higher‑ranked candidates (Rishikesh Meena and Rajesh Kumar) did not ultimately occupy that insider vacancy. The Supreme Court held that once cadre allocation is made and a vacancy is treated as consumed, later non‑joining by a candidate does not create a continuing right in favour of lower‑ranked candidates, especially after a long lapse of time and successive selections. Emphasising the need for finality in cadre allocation and noting the passage of over twenty years and absence of proof that the 2004 insider vacancy still existed, the Court dismissed the appeals.