UP Police Constable Recruitment: High Court Upholds Merit, Rescinds Bar on Reserved Candidates Scoring Above General Cutoff

The Allahabad High Court has clarified a crucial principle for reservation in public employment: meritorious candidates from reserved categories (OBC, etc.) who score above the general/unreserved cutoff cannot be denied selection.

• ⚖️Merit Overrides Procedure

  Reserved category candidates scoring above the general cutoff cannot be denied appointment, even if they claimed social reservation benefits.

• 🔄SC Precedent Applied

  The High Court applied the Supreme Court's 2020 'Saurabh Yadav' judgment, which invalidated the earlier 'Ajay Kumar' full bench ruling of Allahabad HC.

• 📅Retrospective Relief, Prospective Benefits

  While candidates get appointment, seniority and financial benefits will be from the actual joining date, not from the original result date.

Horizontal Reservation

Reservation provided for specific categories (like women, ex-servicemen, persons with disabilities) within each vertical reservation category (SC, ST, OBC, General). It is applied separately and cuts across vertical categories.

Doctrine of Prospective Overruling

A judicial principle where a court's decision is applied only to future cases and not retrospectively. It is an exception to the normal rule that a court's declaration of law applies to all pending and past cases.

Articles 15 & 16 of the Constitution

Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment. Clause (4) of Article 16 enables reservation for backward classes.

Allahabad High Court

The High Court for the state of Uttar Pradesh, with its seat at Prayagraj (Allahabad). It has a bench at Lucknow. It is one of the oldest high courts in India, established in 1866.

• Data: 31,360 Civil Police and 18,208 PAC constable posts advertised on 16 Nov 2018.
• Legal Point: Supreme Court's 'Saurabh Yadav vs Uttar Pradesh State' judgment of December 2020.
• Principle: Reserved category candidates scoring above the general cutoff are eligible for unreserved posts.

1. Q1Easy

   The Allahabad High Court, which delivered the judgment on UP Police recruitment, is the High Court for which Indian state?

   • ABihar
   • BMadhya Pradesh
   • CUttar Pradesh
   • DUttarakhand
2. Q2Hard

   Consider the following statements regarding the recent Allahabad High Court judgment on UP Police recruitment:

   1. 1.The court held that reserved category candidates who score above the general cutoff can be appointed against unreserved posts.
   2. 2.The judgment relied on the Supreme Court's ruling in the 'Ajay Kumar' case as the valid precedent.
   3. 3.The court dismissed the state government's appeals, citing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic as not fatal to the candidates' claims.

   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

   • AOnly 1
   • BOnly 2
   • CBoth 1 and 3
   • DAll three
3. Q3Medium

   According to the news, for how many posts of Civil Police Constables was the recruitment advertisement issued by Uttar Pradesh Police in 2018?

   • A18,208 posts
   • B31,360 posts
   • C49,568 posts
   • D22,500 posts
4. Q4Medium

   What is the primary constitutional principle reinforced by the Allahabad High Court's judgment in the UP Police recruitment case?

   • AThe principle that meritorious candidates from reserved categories should not be denied opportunity in the general pool.
   • BThe principle that judicial decisions must always have only prospective effect.
   • CThe principle that reservation policies override all considerations of merit.
   • DThe principle of absolute seniority based on date of joining.

• Original28 October 2026 · Read story