High Court Of Delhi
RAJ BALA - Appellant
Versus
UNION OF INDIA - Respondent
CIV.WRIT 4298 of 2001
Decided On : 07/22/2003
Retail Outlet - Indian Oil Corporation - The court dismissed the petition of a petitioner who claimed to be an outstanding sportsperson and applied for a Retail Outlet of the Indian Oil Corporation but failed to produce the required documents for eligibility during the interview process.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner claimed to be an outstanding sportsperson and applied for a Retail Outlet of the Indian Oil Corporation. She was called for an interview but failed to produce the required documents for eligibility.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner's claim of eligibility based on being called for an interview was not sufficient, as the specific condition for the interview was to produce relevant documents, and non-production would lead to disqualification. The court also dismissed vague allegations of corruption due to lack of evidence.
Issues: Eligibility for Retail Outlet, Failure to Produce Required Documents, Allegations of Corruption
Ratio Decidendi: The specific condition for calling the person for an interview was to produce relevant documents, and non-production would lead to disqualification. Vague allegations without evidence cannot be considered by the court.
Final Decision: The petition was dismissed with no order as to costs.
( 1 ) THE petitioner is aggrieved by the fact that she has not be considered for the grant of a Retail Outlet of the Indian Oil Corporation for which she had applied pursuant to an advertisement which appeared in the newspapers on 8. 6. 2001. The petitioner claims to be an outstanding sport person having allegedly won the gold medal in javelin and discus throw in the Shung Hung Kai International Track and Field Meet at Hongkong in 1990.
( 2 ) THE aforesaid advertisement dated 8. 6. 2001 indicated that the Indian Oil Corporation proposed to appoint retail outlets/sko/ldo Dealers at locations in the State of Haryana and Delhi, inter alia, out of the "outstanding sports persons" category. It was specified in the advertisement that the outstanding sports person category included:-
" (a) Arjuna Awardess (b) Winners of Medals of Olympic/asian/commonwealth Games and Recognised World Championships/world Championships and (c) National Championships under the Recognised National Championships. "
( 3 ) PURSUANT to the said advertisement, the petitioner applied for the Retail Outlet of Indian Oil Corporation at Bahadurgarh, District Jhajjar. Haryana. Thereafter, by an letter dated 5. 3. 2001, issued by the Dealer Selection Board, Gurgaon (Haryana) 913, New Delhi House, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, the petitioner was informed that she was required to appear before the Dealer Selection Board for an interview on 21. 3. 2001. It was clearly indicated in the said interview/call letter as under:
" Please bring in original documents of the enclosures as stipulated in the application form sent by you to the concerned Oil Company. In addition, please also bring the documents in original, mentioned below. Please note that non-production of any of these documents may lead to disqualification. "
( 4 ) FROM the above, it is clear that the petitioner was informed that she was required to bring original documents of the enclosures as stipulated in the application form submitted by the petitioner. In addition, she was also required to produce relevant documents in support of her annual income as indicated in the interview call letter itself. It is also clearly noted that non-production of any of the documents would lead to disqualification. It appears that on 21. 3. 2001 when the petitioner appeared before the Dealers Selection Board she was asked to produce the original documents pertaining to the proof of eligibility. She could not produce the same on that date. The Chairman, Dealer Selection Board asked the petitioner to produce the same on an adjourned date i. e. 10. 4. 2001 at 4. 00 p. m. Despite this opportunity which was granted to the petitioner to produce the requisite eligibility certificate, the petitioner failed to do so. These facts are clearly stated in the counter affidavit of the respondent. In the counter affidavit, it is pointedly stated that the petitioner did not produce the proof of eligibility at the time of interview. Apart from a bland denial of the paragraph that contained in this averment, the petitioner has not specifically stated that she, in fact, had produced the eligibility certificate at the time of the interview.
( 5 ) THE only ground taken by the petitioner as would be indicated from the following sentence appearing in the rejoinder affidavit in the first paragraph itself is:-
" If the petitioner would not have been eligible, the respondent would have never called her for interview. "it is this very ground that is urged on behalf of learned counsel for the petitioner. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the fact that the petitioner had been called for an interview was sufficient to indicate that the petitioner was eligible and had she not been found eligible she would not have been called for interview. I am unable to agree with this contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner inasmuch as the calling of a person for an interview ipso facto does not amount to the person s selection or eli
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