Cut-off dates for eligibility must be uniform across all candidate categories within the same recruitment advertisement.

The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) issued Advertisement No. 65/2020 on 30.09.2020 for the post of Assistant Curator, setting a cut-off date of 30.10.2020 for educational qualifications

The petitioner possessed a Master’s degree (2011) but obtained her PG Diploma in Archaeology & Museology on 03.01.2022

Following litigation by another candidate, the BPSC issued a first corrigendum on 30.12.2022 amending qualifications and allowing an "Edit option" for existing applicants

A second corrigendum on 07.12.2023 reallocated seats for ST and BC (Female) categories and explicitly stated that certificates for amended qualifications must be issued on or before 19.12.2023

The petitioner was declared successful in the written test but was later marked "Ineligible" on 22.08.2024 on the grounds that her diploma was obtained after the original 2020 cut-off date

The Court examined the Bihar State Archaeology & Museum Service Rules, 2014, regarding essential qualifications

It considered the principles governing cut-off dates in public recruitment as established in Ashok Kumar Sonkar v. Union of India (2007) and Divya v. Union of India (2024), which generally hold that qualifications must be acquired by the date specified in the advertisement or rules

However, the Court applied the principle of administrative consistency and non-discrimination under Article 14, implying that a revised cut-off date introduced via a corrigendum for a modified selection process must apply to all similarly situated candidates

The BPSC argued that the 2023 cut-off date (19.12.2023) applied only to NEW applicants from the ST and BC (Female) categories, while the original 2020 date applied to others

The Court rejected this interpretation, reasoning that the BPSC cannot maintain two different cut-off dates—30.10.2020 for Unreserved/SC/EWS and 19.12.2023 for ST/BC (Female)—for the same recruitment process

Since the first corrigendum allowed all previous applicants to "edit" their qualifications to meet the new criteria, and the second corrigendum explicitly extended the certificate issuance deadline to 19.12.2023, the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the later date

As her diploma was dated 03.01.2022, it fell well within the revised 2023 deadline

The list of ineligible candidates dated 22.08.2024 was quashed specifically regarding the petitioner

The Court directed the BPSC to allow the petitioner to appear for the interview scheduled for 14.03.2026 and to consider her for selection alongside other successful candidates

The writ application was allowed