Court quashes written test in Nagaland Excise Constable recruitment

DIMAPUR — The Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court on Thursday quashed the inclusion of a written test in the ongoing recruitment for Excise Constables in Nagaland, ruling that the change in selection procedure violated the advertisement and service rules.

The petitioners, 16 candidates who had applied for the 46 posts of Excise Constables advertised by the department, had challenged the constitution of the Departmental Recruitment Board (DRB) notified on April 23, 2025, and the subsequent Corrigendum dated June 4, 2025, which introduced a written test midway through the recruitment process. 

They also contested the manner in which the physical test was conducted.

The court observed that the original advertisement, issued on April 7, 2025, specified that the recruitment process would include a physical test and a suitability test (viva voce) only, and that introducing a written test after the process had started violated the principle that recruitment rules cannot be changed midway.

“The petitioners as well as all intending candidates have not been given a fair opportunity of preparing for the written test as the same was not notified in the advertisement dated 07.04.2025 when the process of recruitment started,” the court stated.

Related: Candidates claim irregularities in Nagaland Excise constable recruitment

Further, while the government has the authority to prescribe any method of selection, including a written test, “such method has to be made known in the initial advertisement itself instead of introducing the same midway after the recruitment process has started.”

“Hence, the Corrigendum dated 04.06.2025, cannot stand the test of law... Additionally, as per the Rules, the DRB is also not empowered to introduce such mode of selection as it is only the government which can decide on the method of the selection process,” it added.

The court further observed that the approval for constituting the DRB was obtained on March 25, 2025, before the April 7 advertisement, and that the inclusion of representatives from the Finance and Law departments was a government policy decision. The petitioners “have also not been able to show any prejudice caused to them by the constitution of the DRB.”

Regarding the physical test, the court said the Excise department “is under an obligation to follow the Memorandum dated 19.07.2016 as far as physical and medical standards are concerned during recruitment of field staff.” The physical test conducted on July 14, 2025, was found to have contravened the standards laid down in the memorandum.

While the state government argued that the DRB acted to ensure a fair and impartial recruitment process and that the written test was within the scope of the Nagaland Excise Service (Revised) Rules of 1999, the court held that such modifications should have been notified in the initial advertisement.

The court directed the state respondents to conduct the recruitment strictly in accordance with the April 7 advertisement and the July 19, 2016 memorandum, limiting the selection process to the physical test and suitability test (viva voce).

It also ruled that if the government decides to include a written test, it must first issue a fresh advertisement compliant with constitutional requirements.