Bhupen Kalita and 340 Ors. v. the State of Assam and 4 Ors.
Case brief
What is this about?
Assam Police constable recruitment 2000; advertisement dated 17-01-2000; appointment letters not issued; WP(C) No. 720 of 2001; order dated 24-05-2004; fact-finding committee; destruction of recruitment records; adverse inference; WP(C) No. 3436/2020; speaking order dated 19-04-2022; no indefeasible right to appointment from select list; no presumption of selection from destroyed records; vacancies lapsed; Rule 21 Assam Police Manual age and physical fitness; Article 226 Constitution of India; judicial review legality of decision-making; writ appeal dismissed, no costs; Gauhati High Court intra-court appeal.
What did the court decide?
The fact-finding committee's observation that the claim could not be conclusively rejected owing to destruction of records cannot be elevated to a declaration of selection and does not create an enforceable legal right to appointment.