Administrative delays cannot nullify an eligible candidate's right to appointment if claims are made within the valid recruitment timeline.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner participated in the recruitment process conducted by the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) for the post of Sports Officer, advertised on 06.03.2019. The petitioner applied under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, cleared the written examination, and was placed at Serial No. 1 in the OBC waiting list as per the final result published on 18.09.2020. One of the selected candidates from the OBC category, Amit Verma (Serial No. 17 in the selection list), passed away on 27.12.2021 before joining the post. Despite repeated representations and submission of relevant documents including the post-mortem report and subsequent death certificate (received by the Department on 05.12.2022), the case of petitioner for appointment in place of the deceased candidate was not acted upon in a timely manner. The Department of Higher Education had requested CGPSC to extend the validity of the waiting list beyond its expiry on 17.09.2022, citing the special circumstances and procedural delays in obtaining the death certificate and conducting police verification. However, CGPSC declined the request for extension via letter dated 17.02.2023. The petitioner contends that the delay was due to the inaction of the respondent authorities despite submitting representations within the validity period of the waiting list (including on 06.01.2022, 04.03.2022, and 18.05.2022). The petition seeks a direction for appointment from the waiting list, asserting that the opportunity was lost solely due to administrative delays and negligence of the respondents. Hence, this petition on the following grounds :

“10.1 The Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to issue appointment order in favour of the petitioner from waiting list for the post of Sports Officer with all consequences benefit.

10.2 this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other writ/ writs, order/ orders, relief/ reliefs in favour of the petitioners, which the Hon'ble Court deemed fit & just in the facts and circumstances of the case, including awarding of the costs to the petitioners.”

2. Facts of the case, as canvased in the writ petition, are like that the respondent, Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as “CGPSC”), issued an advertisement dated 06.03.2019 for recruitment to the post of Sports Officer. The total number of posts was distributed among various categories, 17 posts were reserved for the Unreserved category, 15 posts for Scheduled Caste, 24 posts for Scheduled Tribe, and 5 posts for the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The minimum educational qualification prescribed was a Master's Degree in Physical Education or Sports Science with at least 55% marks, along with qualifying NET/SET/Ph.D. Furthermore, Clause (2) of the important tips of the advertisement clarified that a “Good Academic Record” requires at least 50% marks at the undergraduate level. The petitioner, possessing all the requisite educational qualifications as per the advertisement, applied under the OBC category and appeared in the written examination. The petitioner successfully cleared the written exam and was found eligible during the subsequent document verification stage conducted by CGPSC. After conducting interviews, the CGPSC published the final selection list on 18.09.2020. In this list, the name of the petitioner was placed at Serial No. 4 in the overall waiting list and at Serial No. 1 in the OBC category waiting list. This confirmed that the petitioner was the first eligible candidate to be considered for appointment from the OBC wait list in case of any vacancy. Subsequently, the Department of Higher Education issued appointment orders for selected candidates to the post of Sports Officer via orders dated 23.10.2021, 08.11.2021, and 04.01.2022. However, the name of Amit Verma, who was selected under the OBC category and was listed at Serial No. 17 in the main selection list dated 18.09.2020, was not included in the ap