STATE OF U.P. vs NETRA PAL SINGH

The Supreme Court upheld the Allahabad High Court's decision that the State of U.P. acted arbitrarily in refusing to renew the terms of District Government Counsel, despite satisfactory performance evaluations. The Court emphasized that while the State has discretion in such matters, the criteria for renewal must be reasonable and not arbitrary. The judgment referenced the principles established in Harpal Singh Chauhan v. State of U.P. [(1993) 3 SCC 552] and State of U.P. v. Ramesh Chandra Sharma [(1995) 6 SCC 527], affirming the High Court's view that the appointments, although not civil posts, require accountability to the public.