Abhay Kumar Patel v. State of Bihar; 2026 INSC 24 - Public Employment - Recruitment - Retrospective Amendment Of Rules

Constitution of India: Article 309 - Bihar Engineering Services Class–II Recruitment Rules, 2019 - The issuance of the 2022 Amendment Rules, introducing Rule 8(5) with retrospective effect from 06.03.2019, attempts to rewrite the rules of the game which has already begun. By reducing the 25 weightage of the written examination to 75 marks and introducing 25 marks for contractual experience, the State has fundamentally altered the basis of selection and changed the ‘eligibility criteria for being placed in the merit list’ which is not permissible-While the State undoubtedly has the power to amend rules under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India, this power is not unbridled. The power of retrospective legislation cannot be exercised to take away vested rights or to arbitrarily disrupt a selection process that has already resulted in the identification of successful candidates by publication of a provisional merit list -Once a candidate has cleared the written examination and found a place in the merit list based on the announced criteria in line with the extant Rules and the advertisement, a legitimate expectation arises that the selection will be finalized based on the criteria which was advertised at the time of initiation of the recruitment process- The State cannot rely on executive instructions to override statutory rules that were in force during the initiation of the recruitment process, especially to the detriment of candidates who had no notice of such weightage or age relaxation. (Para 39) Even assuming that the 2022 Amendment Rules are policy decisions of the State, they cannot be implemented in a manner that violates the fundamental right to equality under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India by changing the selection criteria after the selection process has already begun. (Para 31-41)

Public Employment -Recruitment -Participation in a recruitment process or mere placement on the merit list does not create an indefeasible right to appointment- However, changing the eligibility criteria for placement in the merit list, after conclusion of the written examination for that purpose, contrary to the extant rules prevalent at the time of the advertisement, cannot be justified on this basis. (Para 40)