The Jharkhand High Court has upheld the cancellation of a JSLPS recruitment process that had progressed through written examinations, group discussions and personal interviews, ruling that participation and success at different stages do not, by themselves, create a legal right to appointment.

A recruitment process left unfinished

The case concerned recruitment to various managerial posts under the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS). The process began with an advertisement issued on 18 January 2022. The petitioners appeared for the written examination held on 24–25 September 2022, cleared it and subsequently participated in the GD and personal interview stages.

However, the final result was not declared for a prolonged period. On 6 May 2025, JSLPS cancelled the recruitment process. The candidates challenged the decision and sought directions for declaration of the final results, arguing that the selection had reached its concluding stages and that cancelling it without adequate justification was arbitrary and contrary to their legitimate expectation.

The projects had moved on

JSLPS told the court that the posts were contractual positions linked to specific projects and programmes. During the prolonged recruitment process, the JOHAR and NRETP projects were completed in June and July 2023. Information regarding completion of the projects, including the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran and NRETP components, had also been received from the Ministry of Rural Development.

With the projects ending, the need for several associated positions ceased. Changes in the selection agency and the prolonged pendency of the recruitment were also cited as administrative grounds for cancellation.

What the court held

Justice Deepak Roshan's court dismissed the petition, holding that merely participating in a recruitment process—or succeeding at its various stages—does not confer an enforceable right to appointment.

The appointment that never became a right

The ruling draws a clear distinction between progressing through a selection process and acquiring a legal entitlement to employment. For the petitioners, the journey through examinations, discussions and interviews ended without appointment; for the court, the decisive factor was that selection remained incomplete and the circumstances underlying the contractual posts had changed.

Source: https://www.jagran.com/jharkhand/ranchi-jharkhand-high-court-upholds-jslps-recruitment-cancellation-40389495.html