Charan Preet Singh Vs Municipal Corporation Chandigarh & Ors (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered an appeal arising from a recruitment dispute for the post of Law Officer in the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh. The recruitment process was based solely on a written examination consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions with negative marking. The dispute centered around Question No. 73, which asked which schedule of the Constitution is immune from judicial review on the ground of violation of fundamental rights. The recruiting authority treated “Ninth Schedule” as the correct answer, while one candidate selected “None of the above,” leading to deduction of marks.
The Single Judge of the High Court upheld the recruiting authority’s answer, reasoning that Article 31B of the Constitution provides immunity to laws placed in the Ninth Schedule from challenge on the ground of violation of fundamental rights, and this position has been affirmed in various Supreme Court judgments. However, the Division Bench took a different view, holding that such immunity is not absolute and is subject to the basic structure doctrine, and therefore no schedule can be said to be completely immune from judicial review. It concluded that “None of the above” was the correct answer and directed revision of marks, which would affect the selection of the appellant.
