The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a case regarding the completion of a recruitment process for Jail Warders in Jammu and Kashmir that was advertised almost twenty years ago. The Union Territory’s special leave petition was dismissed by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, upholding the High Court’s judgment. This decision stemmed from a Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court ruling that criticized the cancellation of a 2005 recruitment process for 73 Warder positions in the Prisons Department.
The High Court’s detailed judgment highlighted the authorities’ actions in canceling the recruitment process after significant progress had been made, leaving the positions vacant for years. Eligible candidates had applied, completed tests in 2010, and underwent document verification in January 2011, but the final results were never announced. The High Court emphasized that once a selection process reaches an advanced stage, it cannot be abruptly terminated, as advised by the Department of Law.
The High Court further stated that any procedural irregularities could have been rectified without scrapping the entire process, emphasizing that there were no allegations of misconduct by candidates. Concerned about the candidates who had waited for nearly two decades, the High Court directed the authorities to finalize the selection process within three months, considering the age limitations of the applicants. With the Supreme Court’s decision not to interfere, the path is now clear for the long-pending recruitment process in the Jammu & Kashmir Prisons Department to move forward.
