The Supreme Court of India on Friday, April 4, dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the Telangana High Court’s (HC) order that upheld the State government’s decision to issue a fresh notification for the Group I recruitment exam and the legality of Government Order (GO) Number 29.
A Bench comprising Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with the high court’s judgment dated December 26, 2024, thereby reinforcing the legality of the amended selection procedure for Group I Mains.
The petitioner, Surepalli Srinivas, appeared and argued in person, seeking relief against the GO and the Telangana State Public Service Commission’s (TGPSC) 2024 notification.
The court, while allowing him to argue, was not convinced by his submissions and dismissed the plea.
Background
The Telangana High Court had earlier dismissed a batch of writ petitions challenging the validity and constitutionality of GO No 29, which was issued by the Telangana government on February 8, 2024.
GO 29 modified the earlier GO No 55 (2002) by allowing TGPSC to consider candidates beyond the 1:50 ratio in case of a shortfall in reserved category candidates, aiming to ensure adequate representation.
The court also upheld the state’s decision to set aside the 2022 Group I notification and issue a fresh one in 2024.
The Division Bench, led by Justices Sujoy Paul and G. Radha Rani, held that the matter had already been litigated at multiple levels — including a single judge, Division Bench, and even in a prior SLP before the Supreme Court — and could not be reopened in a fresh batch of petitions.
The court had observed that the previous pleas were dismissed due to delay and that no relief was granted, which implied rejection.
“Since the petitions filed in the previous round were not entertained on the ground of delay, it is not possible for us to persuade ourselves for a subsequent round of litigation,” the Bench had stated.
What this means
Today’s dismissal by the apex court brings an end to the legal battle over GO 29 and the Group I notification, clearing the way for the Telangana State Public Service Commission to proceed with the recruitment process as per the 2024 notification.
