The Supreme Court on Monday permitted candidates whose applications had been rejected on the ground that they were not forwarded through the competent authority to appear in the upcoming UP HJS Mains examination, subject to the outcome of the proceedings. The order was passed by a Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana.

The Bench was hearing a challenge to the rejection of candidature despite the petitioner having qualified for the preliminary examination. It was submitted that the petitioner’s candidature for the mains examination scheduled on August 1 and 2 had been rejected solely on procedural grounds relating to forwarding through the District Judge or the competent authority.

During the hearing, the Court expressed strong reservations about the continued insistence on such procedural requirements in competitive examinations: “These are procedures from 50 years back, and we are still following them. In a competitive world, you first conduct the exam, then the mains, then interviews, and verification can come later.”

The Court further indicated that the denial of an opportunity at this stage on technical grounds was unjustified, “On such hyper technical grounds that the District Judge has not signed or should have signed, you cannot deny a candidate.”

Taking note of the submissions, the Court issued notice and directed that the petitioner and similarly placed candidates be permitted to appear in the mains examination, clarifying that their participation would remain subject to the outcome of the petition.