‘Rules of game can’t be changed once it’s begun’: Punjab and Haryana HC raps Haryana for changing recruitment rules mid-way

In its judgment pronounced on July 17, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel observed, “The act of the State in making amendment on 09.03.2019 to have effect retrospectively from 05.09.2018 appears to be a deliberate act to scuttle the legitimate claim of the petitioners (respondents herein), which had matured under the 2018 Rules.”

The bench held that Haryana’s move violated applicants’ fundamental right to fair consideration for public employment. Reaffirming that “rules of the game cannot be changed once the game has begun”, the court said recruitment processes must remain transparent and equitable.

The bench also remarked, “This litigation ought not to have arisen in the very first place had the State of Haryana and its functionaries obtained proper legal advice. The action of the appellants herein appears to be merely to scuttle the genuine claim of the petitioners. Thus the appellant-State of Haryana is liable to be saddled with cost of Rs.50,000/- out of which Rs.10,000/- each shall be paid to both the petitioners, namely, Abhishek Verma and Ankur Mittal and the remaining amount of Rs.30,000/- shall be credited in the account of Punjab & Haryana Bar Association, Chandigarh for having wasted precious time of this Court in pursuing this avoidable piece of litigation.”

The court emphasised that altering recruitment rules once the process has begun undermines the principles of fairness and transparency. Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in K Manjusree vs State of Andhra Pradesh (2008), the court said, “Introduction of the requirement of minimum marks for interview, after the entire selection process… was completed, would amount to changing the rules of the game after the game was played, which is clearly impermissible.”

This view was echoed by a Constitutional Bench in Tej Prakash Pathak vs Rajasthan High Court (2023), which held that recruitment benchmarks cannot be altered mid-process.

The case arose from a Haryana Government amendment to recruitment rules notified on March 9, 2019, but made effective retrospectively from September 5, 2018. The petitioners, who had applied under the 2018 Rules, argued that their right to be considered under those rules had crystallised at the time of application. The retrospective change, they contended, unfairly altered eligibility criteria, wiping out their valid claims.