Removing Legally Unavailable Vacancies Does Not Change Recruitment Rules: Allahabad High Court

Whether reducing advertised teaching vacancies after some institutions were lawfully upgraded changed the rules of an ongoing recruitment

A 2025 advertisement covered 1,262 Assistant Teacher posts. Following a Single Judge's decision and notifications issued in March 2026, posts in upgraded High Schools and Intermediate Colleges were removed, reducing vacancies to 634. Affected candidates appealed.

Issue and applicable law

The central question was whether reducing advertised teaching vacancies after some institutions were lawfully upgraded changed the rules of an ongoing recruitment.

The Court applied Tej Prakash Pathak and distinguished competitive conditions from the underlying lawful vacancy position. It considered the 1978 recruitment rules, Section 7-A of the Intermediate Education Act, the 2023 Commission Act and Section 13-A of the Payment of Salaries Act.

Court's reasoning

The Court held that correcting the number of legally available posts is distinct from changing eligibility or selection criteria and is not barred as a midstream rule change. Its principal reason was that the upgraded Junior High Schools had lost their separate legal identity and transitional salary protection did not permanently preserve future vacancies under the 1978 Rules.

Decision and practical effect

The Court upheld exclusion of the unavailable posts while leaving open the mechanism governing vacancies in the upgraded institutions.

The ruling is significant because it clarifies how the stated legal standard should be applied to comparable disputes without extending the decision beyond the facts reported by the source.

Case details

• Case: Appeals arising from Ram Kumar Bhardwaj's challenge to the recruitment
• Court: Allahabad High Court
• Judges: Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Arun Kumar
• Source: https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/allahabad-high-court/allahabad-high-court-dropping-posts-lawfully-filled-advertised-rules-549004