LexTHE WEST BENGAL STATE ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION CO. LTD & ORS. versus DIPENDU BISWAS & ORS.
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[2026] 4 S.C.R. 600 : 2026 INSC 330 The West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd & Ors. v. Dipendu Biswas & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 10262 of 2025) 07 April 2026 [Sanjay Karol and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh,* JJ.] Issue for Consideration Matter pertains to the manner of filling of a vacancy reserved for Person with Disability with Low Vision (PWD-LV) in the Unreserved category UR (PWD-LV), where the recruitment notification stipulated that in case of non-availability of qualified unreserved candidate in the PWD-LV category, the vacancy will be filled up by PWD candidates of other categories as per merit. Headnotes† Service law – Reservation – Filling up of unreserved vacancies by reserved candidates – Mobility of a PWD-LV candidate from reserved category of OBC-A to Unreserved horizontal category of UR (PWD-LV) – Recruitment Notification for 30 vacancies for the post of Junior Engineer, wherein one post meant for unreserved UR (PWD-LV) and five posts for Other Backward Classes-A (OBC-A) – Respondent No.1 PWD-LV candidate applied under the Unreserved category for the said post under UR (PWD-LV) quota, and respondent No. 3 (OBC-A candidate) applied under the OBC-A quota, and also stated that he belongs to the PWD (LV) category – In the recruitment process, the respondent No.1 scored 55.667 marks, whereas, the respondent No.3 scored 66.667 marks – Since the respondent No.3 under OBC-A category also belongs to PWD-LV category and obtained higher marks than the respondent No.1, he was offered appointment to the said Unreserved post of UR(PWD-LV) – Challenge to, by respondent No.1, in view of the recruitment notification stipulating that in case of non-availability of qualified UR (PWD-LV) candidate, the vacancy will be filled up by PWD candidates of the other * Author [2026] 4 S.C.R. 601 The West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd & Ors. v. Dipendu Biswas & Ors. categories as per merit – High Court dismissed the petition holding that the respondent No.3 also belonged to the PWD- LV category and had scored more marks than the respondent No.1 – However, the Division Bench held that when a qualified unreserved PWD-LV candidate is available, the vacancy is to be filled up by that candidate only, even though there may be more meritorious PWDLV candidates available in the reserved category of OBCA – Correctness: Held: Post earmarked for special (horizontal) reservation under the Unreserved category will be open to every candidate possessing the attribute or character of the special (horizontal) reservation – Thus, if the Unreserved/Open post is meant for the special category of Persons with Disabilities, it means that the said post will be open to all candidates of all vertical social categories, whether SC, ST or OBC, provided such candidates are also Persons with Disabilities – Principle of migration in reservation will be applicable in this scenario also – Even though there are candidates under the Unreserved category who are Persons with Disabilities, if there are more meritorious candidates belonging to any of the social categories like SC, ST or OBC who are also Persons with Disabilities, such more meritorious persons from the SC, ST or OBC category can be appointed against the Unreserved quota meant for Person with Disabilities by virtue of merit – Horizontally reserved post of PWD-LV falling under the Unreserved category can be filled by any PWD-LV candidate belonging to any social reserved category, as this post of PWD-LV under the Unreserved category is also open to all PWD-LV candidates belonging to any social reserved category – Any candidate belonging to any social category can compete for this post so long as they belong to the PWD-LV category – Principle of mobility will also apply when filling the said post of UR (PWD-LV) – Only condition attached to this Unreserved/Open category is that it is meant only for candidates belonging to the horizontal PWD-LV category, i.e., it is specially reserved for persons who are categorised as PWD-LV – Unreserved post/vacancy for PWD-LV is available and open to all, irrespective of the social category they may belong to, provided they also belong to the same special category of PWD-LV – As the said post falls under the Unreserved category, it is to be filled up purely on merit – Merit is the co-attendant and inseparable attribute of appointment to any post under the “Unreserved” category
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