10 July 2025 Civil Writ Petition >> Civil & Consumer Law  

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed state authorities to re-evaluate the selection process for Rural Agricultural Extension Officers (Class-III), specifically concerning how vacancies arising from non-joining candidates are filled. The ruling of Veerbhadra Singh Goud v/s The State Of Madhya Pradesh & Others comes in a petition filed by an aggrieved candidate who was placed on the waiting list for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) Open category but was excluded from selection despite existing vacancies.

Background of the Dispute:

The petitioner participated in the Rural Agricultural Extension Officer (Class-III) entrance examination, advertised in April 2023. While the final results in February 2024 placed the petitioner at serial number 45 on the waiting list for the EWS Open category, their grievance arose from the subsequent handling of vacancies. Many selected candidates did not join, creating unfilled positions. However, the petitioner contended that the respondents were filling these vacancies exclusively with candidates from the Unreserved (UR) category, rather than considering all relevant categories as per established rules.

The petitioner's counsel highlighted Rule 11.2 and 11.3 of the Madhya Pradesh Kanishtha Seva (Sanyukta Aharta) Pariksha Niyam, 2013. These rules stipulate that if a reserved category candidate qualifies in the unreserved category, their candidature should be counted against the unreserved quota. Furthermore, a reserved category candidate securing marks equivalent to an unreserved candidate should be adjusted against the unreserved category. The petitioner argued that the respondents' current procedure of filling UR vacancies only with UR candidates was in violation of these rules and requested a directive for the proper procedure to be followed.

The State's counsel opposed the petition but did not file a detailed reply despite multiple opportunities.

Court's Decision:

After reviewing the submissions and available documents, the High Court observed that the issue at hand had already been addressed in a previous judgment, Dr. Subhendra Tiwari Vs. State of M.P. WP No. 26617/2025, to which both counsels agreed the current matter was covered.

Consequently, the Court allowed the writ petition and issued a clear directive to respondent numbers 2 and 3. They are now mandated to strictly follow the procedure prescribed under Rule 11.2 and 11.3 of the 2013 Rules.

The order specifies that if, after applying the correct procedure, the petitioner is found entitled to an appointment, the same shall be extended to them. This appointment, along with a newly issued selection list and joining order, must be completed within two months.

This decision effectively sets aside the impugned joining order dated February 4, 2025, and compels the authorities to conduct a fresh preparation of the EWS Open category merit list, potentially shifting or migrating eligible EWS Open category candidates into the UR Open category merit list, in adherence to the stated rules.