Ranchi: The High Court, in a recent ruling, clarified that no candidate can challenge policy changes made before their appointment. The case stemmed from an advertisement issued by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) for the recruitment of compounders and pharmacists. The advertisement initially listed the pay scale for both positions as ₹5,200-₹20,200 with a grade pay of ₹2,800.
While the eligibility criteria for the two positions were kept the same, a revision was made to Rule 16(ii) of the Jharkhand Paramedical Staff Cadre (Appointment, Promotion, and Other Service Conditions) Regulations, 2016, reducing the compounder’s pay grade from ₹2,800 to ₹1,900.
Following this, Santosh Kumar and 11 others filed a petition in the High Court, challenging the reduction in pay scale. The petitioners argued that since the eligibility for both positions was identical and the pay scales were initially the same, the reduction for the compounder was unjustified.
In response, the state government argued that the petitioners had accepted the lower pay scale when they took on the positions, meaning they could not later claim the higher pay scale. The decision to reduce the pay scale had been made prior to the petitioners’ appointment.
The case was heard by a bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava.