Recruitment Advertisement Error Does Not Create Right to Appointment Without Vacancy: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has set aside a Central Administrative Tribunal order directing the appointment of a candidate based on an erroneous recruitment advertisement, holding that a mistake in a notice cannot create a vested right when no sanctioned vacancy exists.

The Court said the existence of a vacancy is a sine qua non for appointment, and candidates cannot claim selection merely due to an inadvertent error in an advertisement.

It clarified that age relaxation also presupposes the availability of a corresponding reserved vacancy.

While allowing the petition, the Court granted liberty to the candidate to seek damages, if permissible in law, for the mistake in the recruitment process.

[National Institute Of Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases v. Ms Shweta & Ors.]