Supreme Court Orders Recruitment of TSR Enrolled Followers Within Two Months, Strikes Down BJP Government’s 2018 Policy Move

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, August 31, 2025

The Supreme Court has delivered a major setback to the BJP led government in Tripura, directing the state to complete the recruitment of TSR Enrolled Followers within two months. The court upheld the recruitment policy framed during the Left Front era and categorically ruled that the BJP’s 2018 recruitment policy cannot be applied retrospectively to candidates selected under the earlier system.

A bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Rajesh Bindal made it clear that administrative orders cannot override statutory rules. The court emphasized that once a recruitment process is completed under existing law, it cannot be cancelled or nullified by introducing a new policy later.

The controversy dates back to 2016–17, when 506 vacancies for TSR Enrolled Followers were announced. After written exams, physical tests, interviews, and publication of the merit list, selected candidates had completed police verification. However, following the BJP’s rise to power in 2018, the government stalled the appointments through a notification and subsequently announced a new recruitment policy, effectively scrapping the earlier process.

This triggered widespread frustration among hundreds of candidates who had already secured selection. In 2019, the Tripura High Court upheld the state’s right to change recruitment policy but did not address the retrospective applicability issue. The aggrieved candidates then approached the Supreme Court.

After a prolonged legal battle, the apex court has now categorically quashed the government’s 2018 orders that stalled and cancelled the recruitment process. The verdict also applies to other scrapped recruitment processes, including the case of eight Havildar (Technical) posts where the government had similarly withheld appointments despite High Court directions.

In a stinging observation, the Supreme Court noted that the BJP-led government acted arbitrarily and undermined established legal procedures by cancelling completed recruitment processes through administrative fiat.

Although the verdict has finally secured justice for the candidates, many have lost crucial years of their careers due to the state government’s vindictive and arbitrary actions.

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