Treatment of meritorious reserved category candidates as open category selections

It is an established and well-settled constitutional proposition that where a reserved category candidate participates in a selection process and secures equal or higher marks than the cut-off marks prescribed for the general category candidates without availing any concession, relaxation, or affirmative benefit, such candidate must be treated as having qualified on their own merit against an open, unreserved vacant post. Earmarking a candidate under the unreserved list on the basis of their superior performance is rooted in the fundamental premise that the open category is not an exclusive quota reserved for non-backward classes, but is purely an open merit pool accessible to all candidates regardless of their caste, tribe, class, or gender. Consequently, an appointing authority commits no legal infirmity in accommodating such candidates against unreserved points, and their appointment on pure merit cannot be set aside merely to make way for a less meritorious unreserved candidate who failed to clear the general merit cut-off. (Airport Authority of India & Ors. Vs Sham Krishna B & Ors. | 2026 INSC 69)