Agartala, May 02, 2026: In a major ruling reinforcing transparency in public recruitment, the High Court of Tripura has directed the Joint Recruitment Board of Tripura (JRBT) to prepare and publish fresh merit-based selection lists for Group-C and Group-D posts within four months.
The directive was issued by S Datta Purkayastha while disposing of multiple writ petitions that alleged serious irregularities in recruitment for Multi Tasking Staff (Group-D) and several Group-C posts.
The petitions—WP(C) Nos. 694, 695, 784, and 785 of 2024—were filed by Joyjit Chowdhury, Ranjit Debnath, Santi Prasad Das, and Rajesh Chakraborty. The petitioners claimed that despite scoring higher marks, they were denied selection, while candidates with lower marks were chosen under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) quota. They argued that JRBT failed to properly apply horizontal reservation for disabled candidates.
During the hearing, Advocate Arijit Bhaumik represented the petitioners, while Additional Government Advocates Mangal Debbarma and D Sarma appeared for the State. The petitioners contended that disability reservation cuts across categories such as SC, ST, and UR, and therefore merit should be the primary basis before category-wise adjustment.
The court referred to key Supreme Court rulings, including the Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, Rajesh Kumar Daria v. Rajasthan Public Service Commission, and Rekha Sharma v. Rajasthan High Court, reiterating that reservation for persons with disabilities is horizontal and must be implemented through interlocking reservation.
Justice Purkayastha observed that authorities had wrongly earmarked disability quota posts within SC, ST, and UR categories in advance, leading to the exclusion of higher-scoring candidates. The court held that such compartmentalization violated established legal principles and state guidelines issued on January 9, 2019.
Accordingly, the High Court directed JRBT to prepare fresh merit lists for Group-D posts strictly based on marks obtained by PwBD candidates and then adjust them within their respective social categories. Similar instructions were issued for Group-C posts, including LDC, Agriculture Assistant, Junior Operator (Pump), and Junior Multi Tasking Operator (Un-common).
The court also instructed the State to determine disability reservation separately for each cadre and establishment as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Further, the bench clarified that if any currently appointed candidate is found ineligible after the revised lists are prepared, the government may cancel such appointments following due legal procedure.
The court ordered that the entire process, including fresh advertisements and publication of revised merit lists, must be completed within four months from the date of receipt of the judgment.
