This batch of writ petitions are filed impugning the similar, but separate, orders of the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal (for short, ‘Tribunal’) in applications in Application Nos.11680/2016, 11679/2016 and 11667/2016 directing the Karnataka Examination Authority (for short, ‘KEA’) to include the names of the Applicants in these applications before the Tribunal (for short, ‘Applicants’) in the Final Selection List for the notified Posts of Assistant Professors in the Government First Grade Colleges in the respective subjects with further direction to the First Respondent to issue appointment Orders to the Applicants in terms of the Final Selection List forwarded by the KEA; and if these directions are given effect to, the private Respondents before the Tribunal (for short, ‘private Respondents’) will be excluded from the selection to the subject posts. Therefore, KEA has filed three writ petitions in W.P.No.44242/2017, W.P.No.47462/2017 and W.P.No.49066/2017 impugning the separate orders dated 28.07.2017 in Application Nos.11679/2016, 11680/2016 and 11667/2016, while the respective private Respondents have filed W.P.No.41886/2017 and W.P.No.8686/2018 impugning the orders in Application No. 11680/2016 and 11667/2016.

2. The three applicants approached the Tribunal seeking, inter alia, for holding their non-inclusion in the Provisional Selection List dated 06.12.2016 in No.ED/KEA/ADMN/CR-55/2014-15 for the posts of Assistant Professors in respective subjects viz., ‘Social Work’, ‘History’ and ‘Commerce’ in the Government First Grade Colleges in the State of Karnataka as unconstitutional and for directions. KEA issued Notification dated 22.1.2015 inviting applications for filing up of 1298 posts of Assistant Professors in the Government First Grade Colleges in the State of Karnataka in different subjects and later issued another Notification dated 5.3.2015, in continuation of the earlier notification, extending the date for filing applications for these 1298 Posts and additional 862 Posts; and yet another Notification dated 16.7.2015 was issued, for the reasons stated in the notification, revising the post wise allotment list and extending the notified timelines for making online applications and payment of fee.

3. After the conduct of the notified competitive examinations, KEA published ‘Instructions for Document Verification’ which are relevant for the purposes of the present lis are,

“All relevant certificates should be obtained as on the last date fixed for receipt of application in the respective notification”,

and

“Caste Certificate/ Caste Income Certificate (For SC/ ST in Form D, Category – 1 in ‘Form –E’ and 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B in ‘Form-F’)

(As per the Government Order dated 4.6.2015, the candidate and his/ her father’s – mother’s who’s Gross Annual Income is below Rs.6.00 lakhs are eligible to claim benefit of reservation under 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B categories. Further, the candidates who have married, the spouse income, if any, will also be considered for annual income)”.

4. The applicants were called upon to appear for verification of documents, and after the verification of documents furnished, the applicants were also included in the Provisional List published on 27.10.2016. However, each of the Applicants were served with individual Communications dated 21.11.2016 informing them that they, being married as on the date of the Notification and having respectively applied under Group 2B, 2A and 3B, had to submit respective Income and Caste Certificates (for short, ‘Certificates’) in ‘Form F’ issued under the provisions of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments etc.,) Act, 1990 (for short, ‘Act’) and the Rules made thereunder (for short, ‘Rules’) indicating the income of the spouse and his family as required under the applicable Government Order, but the applicants had submitted false information in obtaining the Certificates in ‘Form F’ by giving inco