In a closely watched ruling that affects hundreds of police recruitment aspirants in Telangana, the Supreme Court on Thursday stepped in to settle a long-running dispute over driving licence eligibility. The case arose from challenges to the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board’s 2022 notifications for driver posts. Inside Court, the bench made it clear that recruitment rules, once framed, cannot be softened through interpretation, however sympathetic the facts may appear.
Background
The controversy traces back to recruitment notifications issued in April and May 2022 for 325 driver posts in the Police Transport Organisation and Fire Services. One key condition was simple on paper but tricky in practice: candidates had to hold a valid driving licence continuously for at least two years before the notification date.
Read also:- Bombay High Court Says 'Technical Breaks' Can't Deny Maternity Leave, Orders Maharashtra Medical College to Pay Assistant Professor Dues
Several applicants had licences that expired during this two-year window but were later renewed. They argued there was no real “break” because renewal related back to the expiry date. The Telangana High Court accepted this logic, allowing such candidates to proceed further in the selection process. The Recruitment Board, unhappy with this relaxation, carried the matter to the Supreme Court.
Court’s Observations
The Supreme Court disagreed with the High Court’s approach. Reading out from the judgment, the bench observed that the word “continuously” could not be diluted to mean something flexible or assumed. “Once a driving licence expires, the holder is legally barred from driving until renewal,” the court noted, adding that this gap cannot be ignored merely because the licence is later renewed.
Read also:- Kerala High Court refuses bail to Palakkad man accused of bus harassment, says grave allegations block extraordinary relief under new
The judges explained the impact of the 2019 amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act in plain terms. Earlier, there was a short grace period after expiry. That cushion is now gone. Renewal within one year only permits renewal; it does not mean the licence remained valid during the gap. “Driving is not a paper qualification,” the bench remarked, underlining that police and disaster response drivers need uninterrupted, hands-on experience.
The court also pointed out that if the requirement was only to possess a licence sometime in the past, the recruitment notice would not have used the word “continuously” at all.
Read also:- Karnataka High Court Quashes Trial Court Stay in ₹2.33 Crore Hotel Dispute, Cites Judicial Consistency and Misuse of CPC Section 10
Decision
Setting aside the Telangana High Court’s orders, the Supreme Court allowed the appeals filed by the Police Recruitment Board. It held that candidates whose driving licences had expired at any point during the two-year qualifying period were not eligible under the recruitment notifications, even if the licences were later renewed. The recruitment process, the court directed, must proceed strictly as per the original terms laid down in the notifications.
Case Title: Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board v. Penjarla Vijay Kumar & Others
Case No.: Civil Appeals arising out of SLP (Civil) Nos. 8684–8688 of 2024 and connected matters
Case Type: Civil Appeals (Service / Recruitment – Police Driver Posts)
Decision Date: 2025
