The Supreme Court granted interim relief to a Chhattisgarh court employee, permitting him to appear for the remaining third-year LL.B. exam papers as a regular student. The Court allowed this despite clear restrictions imposed under his service rules.
The Supreme Court granted interim relief to a court employee from Chhattisgarh, allowing him to appear for the remaining papers of his third-year LL.B. examinations as a regular student, despite restrictions under his service rules.
The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued the order while hearing a petition challenging a decision of the Chhattisgarh High Court.
The High Court had ruled that a probationary employee in the district judiciary could not pursue a law degree as a regular student in view of the applicable service regulations.
Considering the urgency of the situation, the apex court permitted the petitioner to take the remaining examination papers. It further clarified that an appropriate order regarding a paper that had already been conducted a day earlier which the petitioner could not attend due to lack of permission would be passed at a later stage.
The petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Grade-III in September 2022 in the office of the Principal District and Sessions Court and was placed on probation for three years. Under the terms of his appointment, he was prohibited from pursuing higher studies during the first year without approval from the competent authority.
During his probation, the petitioner obtained permission to pursue the first and second years of the LL.B. programme.
However, his position changed after the introduction of the Chhattisgarh District Judiciary Establishment (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Employees Rules, 2023, which came into force on October 6, 2023. Rule 11 of the 2023 Rules bars employees from appearing as regular candidates in academic examinations, and allows such studies only through private/correspondence modes, subject to prior approval.
Relying on Rule 11, the appointing authority rejected the petitioner’s request to appear as a regular candidate for the third-year LL.B. examinations.
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Following the denial, the petitioner approached the High Court. A Single Judge initially granted him relief and directed the authorities to permit him to appear in the third-year examinations, holding that the repeal and saving provision under Rule 47 of the 2023 Rules meant the new rules would not apply retrospectively, given the protection available for ongoing arrangements.
That decision was later set-aside by a Division Bench of the High Court, which held that the 2023 Rules would apply and confirmed the refusal of permission.
Challenging the Division Bench’s ruling, the petitioner moved the Supreme Court, seeking urgent intervention due to the examinations already underway. Without examining the case on merits at this stage, the Supreme Court issued an interim order permitting him to appear in the remaining papers.
Case Title: Ajit Choubelal Gohra v. High Court of Chhattisgarh & Ors.