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14. A perusal of the above judgments would keep at least two things beyond any pale of doubt. Firstly, the roaster is not vacancy based, but the same is only post based. It identifies the number of posts earmarked for various categories under the vertical reservations and posts left behind for open quota as well as special reservations. Secondly, after so identifying the posts, it should be calculated as to how many vacancies are to be filled up under various categories in the current selection. If once the number of vacancies earmarked for each category in the current selection is identified by using the Roster, thereafter the Roster will have no further role to play in the matter of selection. After identifying the number of vacancies earmarked for various categories, the selection for each category has to be made purely based on merit following the method detailed below:

"4.........It is seen that when the roaster is maintained to give effect to the constitutional policy of reservation to render socioeconomic justice to the concerned sections, respective places assigned to the candidates belonging to them, general candidates, backward classes or Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, as the case may be, the change in the order of merit inevitably get affected. If original order of merit prepared by the Public Service Commission or Selection Committee, if remains unaffected, roaster becomes redundant and always remains unimplemented. The reserved candidates always remain at the bottom of the select list unless selected as general candidates in the order of merit. To relieve such injustice and hardship, roaster is maintained and vacancies are filled up in the order maintained therein. The placement of candidates shall be to the respective points fixed in the roaster. Take for instance vacancy No. 1 and 6, as pointed out in the Chief Secretary's letter have admittedly been reserved for Scheduled Castes. Suppose recruitment was made to fill up ten vacancies, three candidates from Scheduled Castes were selected. The first one as general and second and third were selected on the basis of reserved quota. The question is whether the first candidate will be put in the quota allotted to the Scheduled Castes in the roaster. Having been selected as a general candidate, though he is more meritorious than the second and third candidates, he will not get the placement in the roaster, reserved for Scheduled Castes i.e. No. 1 and 6 points. Consequently candidates Nos. 2 and 3 will get the placement at No.1 and 6 and the first candidate will get the placement in the order of merit along with the general candidates according to the order of merit maintained by the Selection Committee or the Public Service Commission. He cannot complain that having been selected in the merit, he must be placed in the placement reserved for Scheduled Castes at point No. 1 in the roaster. Equally, though general candidate is more meritorious in the order of merit prepared by the Public Service Commission or the Selection Committee, when the appointments are made and the vacancies are filled up according to the roaster, necessarily and inevitably the Reserved candidates though less meritorious in the order of merit maintained by the Public Service Commission would occupy the respective places assigned in the roaster. Thereby they steal a march over some of the general candidates and get seniority over the general candidates. This scheme is, therefore, constitutional, valid and is not arbitrary." (Emphasis added)

18. From the above judgments, it is crystal clear that Roster is, inter alia, used to identify the number of vacancies available to various categories including the open quota in the current selection and thereafter, the selection should be made only on merit and a candidate selected on merit under the open quota should not be adjusted against the reserved vacancy. The inter se seniority of the candidates selected and appointed in that selection should be only on merits and not on the basis of the roaster points.