Agartala, August 30, 2025: The Supreme Court has directed the Tripura government to complete the long-pending recruitment process of Enrolled Followers in the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) within the next two months, as per the provisions of the TSR Act and Rules.

The recruitment process, initiated in 2016, was stalled due to legal disputes. A notification was first issued on September 9, 2016, for candidates under the internal quota of Tripura, followed by rallies across the state from September 24 to December 7. In these rallies, 2,388 candidates participated, of whom 1,696 qualified through physical, written and oral tests. From the merit list, 350 candidates were recommended for appointment.

Similarly, a notification for the extra-state quota was issued on September 14, 2016. Rallies were held in Kotdwar (North India), Ranchi (Central India), and Visakhapatnam (South India) between October 23 and November 15. Out of 1,429 candidates, 372 qualified, with 134 recommended for appointment and 238 kept on the waiting list.

However, the process was halted after a case was filed in the Tripura High Court challenging its validity. The High Court ruled in favor of the state government, effectively cancelling the recruitment. This decision was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

A division bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Rajesh Bindal held that the stay order of March 14, 2018, and the memorandum of August 20, 2018, cancelling the recruitment process, were legally invalid. The apex court clarified that applications rejected due to these orders stand revived.

The court has now directed the state to appoint 350 candidates under the intra-state quota and 134 under the extra-state quota, bringing closure to the recruitment process pending for nearly nine years.