Candidate’s lower marks and existence of prior NOC preclude challenge against selected candidates.

The petitioner, an SC category candidate, applied for the post of Tripura Civil Service (TCS) Grade-II under Advertisement No. 4/2016.

He qualified for the written exam and was called for an interview, which required a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) from the employer.

The petitioner alleged that Private Respondent No. 5 was selected despite lacking a valid NOC, whereas the petitioner had complied with all formalities.

Upon receiving a score summary from the Tripura Public Service Commission (TPSC), the petitioner discovered he secured 474.58 marks out of 900.

He challenged the selection of Respondent No. 5, seeking a direction for his own appointment.

Whether the selection of Private Respondent No. 5 was vitiated by the alleged absence of a "No Objection Certificate" from his employer.

Whether the petitioner was eligible for appointment based on his merit ranking within the reserved SC category.

The Court applied the principles of merit-based selection in public employment, emphasizing that recruitment must strictly follow the criteria and vacancies specified in the advertisement (Advt. No. 4/2016).

It upheld the administrative requirement of a "No Objection Certificate" for candidates already in government service and the principle that a candidate cannot claim a right to appointment if they fail to secure marks above the last selected candidate in their respective category.

The Court examined the records provided by the TPSC, which revealed that Respondent No. 5 had indeed obtained a valid NOC on 14.06.2016, prior to the interview call letter.

Furthermore, the analysis of merit showed that Respondent No. 5 secured 543.17 marks, significantly higher than the petitioner's 474.58 marks.

The TPSC clarified that there were six reserved seats for the SC category, and the last-ranked successful SC candidate (Jayanta Kumar Das) secured 482.5 marks.

Since the petitioner’s marks were lower than the cut-off for the SC category and all advertised vacancies were filled by higher-ranking candidates, the Court found no procedural irregularity or violation of rights.

It was established that Respondent No. 5 possessed the requisite NOC and that the petitioner was ineligible for appointment due to his lower merit position.

Consequently, the High Court of Tripura dismissed the writ petition as being devoid of merit, with no order as to costs.