Supreme Court: Meritorious SC-ST-OBC Candidates Entitled to General Category Seats

• The Supreme Court ruled that reserved category candidates scoring above the general category cut-off are eligible for unreserved seats.
• Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma affirmed this principle, stating it's an established legal norm.
• The court quashed a Kerala High Court decision that excluded meritorious reserved category candidates from the general list for AAI appointments.
• The 'unreserved' category is an 'open' category based purely on merit, not a quota for general candidates.
• Reserved candidates performing better than general candidates without relaxations should be counted as 'open' candidates, freeing up reserved quota seats.

Why It Matters: Meritorious reserved category candidates are entitled to general category seats based on merit, not reservation.