Court rules FCI Board empowered to prescribe Hindi typing test for Assistant Grade-III (Hindi) confirmation; directs fresh test with one month preparation after petitioners failed initial attempts
In a significant judgment delivered on November 5, 2026, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, presided over by Justice Sanjay Dhar, upheld the validity of the Hindi typing test as a condition for confirmation of probation for the post of Assistant Grade-III (Hindi) in the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The court also granted a reprieve to the petitioners, Anjali Shaw and another, who were discharged from service after failing the typing test, by directing the FCI to provide them one final opportunity to qualify the test with sufficient preparation time.
The petitioners had challenged their discharge orders dated June 11 and June 17, 2026, contending that the Hindi typing test was not a prescribed condition under the Food Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1971 (“Staff Regulations”) for appointment or confirmation. They argued that the typing test had been imposed through circulars that lacked sanction of the Central Government and were not published in the Gazette, and that their probation period had expired without any specific confirmation or extension.
The court examined the Staff Regulations and the relevant circulars issued by the FCI Board. It observed that while the original Regulations did not explicitly require a Hindi typing test for appointment or confirmation of Assistant Grade-III (Hindi), Regulation 91 conferred residual powers on the FCI Board to issue general instructions not inconsistent with the Act and Regulations. Exercising this power, the Board had validly issued circulars dated May 19, 2023, and August 23, 2024, prescribing passing departmental examinations, including a Hindi typing test at a speed of 30 words per minute, as a condition for confirmation of probation.
The court held that the petitioners had willingly participated in the recruitment process with knowledge of the typing test condition and could not later repudiate it. Furthermore, it clarified that the petitioners’ probation was not confirmed as no specific order was issued, and thus they remained probationers liable to discharge on notice, consistent with Regulation 15 of the Staff Regulations.
However, recognizing that the petitioners were given only a couple of days to prepare for the typing test, the court found them to have been “hard done by” and ordered that they be granted a final chance to take the test with at least one month’s preparation time. The discharge orders were to remain in abeyance until the fresh test was conducted. If the petitioners qualified, the FCI was directed to withdraw the discharge orders and issue confirmation, subject to no other legal impediments. If they failed again, the discharge orders would take effect.
This judgment underscores the legal validity of departmental tests prescribed by the FCI Board under its residual powers for confirmation of probation and affirms the principle of fairness by allowing adequate preparation time for such tests.
Bottom Line:
Food Corporation of India - Probation/confirmation - Though Staff Regulations do not expressly require Hindi typing test for appointment to post of Assistant Grade-III (Hindi), FCI Board can prescribe such test as condition for confirmation of probation through circulars issued under residual power in Regulation 91 - Probationer who accepted advertisement condition and participated in test cannot later challenge it - However, where inadequate time was given to prepare, one final opportunity with one month's preparation time can be granted and discharge order kept in abeyance till retest.
Statutory provision(s):
Food Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1971 Regulations 15, 91; Food Corporation of India Act, 1964 Section 45
Anjali Shaw v. Union of India, (J&K and Ladakh) : Law Finder Doc Id # 3014166
