Supreme Court Upholds Women’s Reservation in Punjab Civil Services Recruitment

In a landmark judgment delivered on April 9, 2025, the Supreme Court of India settled a contentious dispute regarding the implementation of women’s reservation in Punjab government services. The bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran ruled in favor of Prabhjot Kaur, upholding her selection as Deputy Superintendent of Police under the Scheduled Caste Sports (Women) category.

The case originated from the Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination-2020, where the state government had advertised 77 posts including 26 DSP positions. The controversy centered around the implementation of the Punjab Civil Services (Reservation of Posts for Women) Rules, 2020 which mandated 33% horizontal reservation for women across all categories.

Justice Dhulia, writing for the bench, observed: ‘The crucial date in the present case is the advertisement dated 11.12.2020. This advertisement follows the 2020 Rules where 33% of reservation was to be made for women on every government post. Thus, DSP SC Sports was reserved for women.’ The Court emphasized that this advertisement or the 2020 Rules were never challenged.

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Senior Advocate P.S. Patwalia, appearing for the appellant, argued: ‘The learned Single Judge had considered the contradictory stands taken by the Home Department and Department of Social Justice before passing a well-reasoned order, which the Division Bench ought not to have interfered with.’ He further contended that the roster system relied upon by the respondents came into existence on 29.01.2021, after the recruitment process had commenced.

The judgment meticulously analyzed the timeline of events and legal principles governing recruitment processes. The Court relied on the Constitution Bench decision in Tej Prakash Pathak v. High Court of Rajasthan which had established that ‘Recruitment process commences from the issuance of the advertisement calling for applications and ends with filling up of vacancies’ and that ‘Eligibility criteria…cannot be changed midway through the recruitment process unless the extant Rules so permit.’

The Supreme Court’s decision reinforces important constitutional principles regarding the sanctity of recruitment processes and the implementation of affirmative action policies. By setting aside the High Court’s order and restoring the single judge’s decision, the apex court has ensured that reservation policies are implemented as per the rules existing at the time of advertisement, preventing arbitrary changes during ongoing recruitment processes.

Petitioner Name: Prabhjot Kaur.
Respondent Name: State of Punjab and Ors..
Judgment By: Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, Justice K. Vinod Chandran.
Place Of Incident: Punjab.
Judgment Date: 08-04-2025.
Result: allowed.

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