The examination questions were not beyond the prescribed syllabus, and the competitive nature of the examination was emphasized by the court.

VIPIN SANGHI, J.

1. The aforesaid writ petitions have been preferred by the petitioners to assail the common impugned order of the Tribunal passed on 27.05.2015 in the Original Applications preferred by the present petitioners, including O.A. No.703/2014. The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT/Tribunal) has dismissed the Original Applications by the impugned order. The grievance of the petitioners/applicants before the Tribunal, primarily, was that in respect of the competitive examination conducted by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) for the post of Teacher (Primary) under Post Code 70/09, out of the 200 questions, 58 questions were out of syllabus. The petitioners claimed that on account of the said lacuna, they were unsuccessful. The Tribunal examined the said plea of the petitioners and negated the submissions of the petitioners by holding that the questions put in the question paper could not be said to be beyond the syllabus. Consequently, the petitioners are before us raising the same plea.

2. As noticed above, the DSSSB, NCT of Delhi invited applications for the post of Teacher (Primary), vide Post Code 70/09 through Advertisement No.004/2009. The closing date of receipt of applications was 15.01.2010. The number of vacancies advertised was 4500, which included posts reserved for different categories, such as, the SC, ST, OBC and, Physically Handicapped candidates. The number of vacancies was increased to 6500 on 18.03.2010. The essential qualifications prescribed were as follows:

“1. Sr. Secondary (10+2) or Intermediate or its equivalent with 50% marks from a recognized Board.

2. Two years diploma/Certificate course in ETE/JBT or B.El.Ed. from recognized institutions or its equivalent.

3. Must have passed Hindi as a subject at Secondary level.”

3. The age limit prescribed was 20-27 years, which was relaxable for the SC/ST candidates by 5 years; for OBC category candidates by 3 years; for the Physically Handicapped category candidates by 10 years. The relaxation for the Physically Handicapped SC/ST category candidates was 15 years, and for the Physically Handicapped OBC category candidates was 13 years. For the departmental employees, the age limits were even higher.

4. The syllabus prescribed for Part – I Preliminary Examination and One Tier Examination (Objective Type) reads as follows:

“SYLLABUS:

The syllabus for PART – I Preliminary Examination and One Tier Examination

(OBJECTIVE TYPE) will be as follows:-

SECTION-A

General Awareness: Questions will be designed to test the ability of the candidate’s General Awareness of the environment around him and its application to society. The questions will be designed to test knowledge of current events and of such matter of everyday observation as may be expected of an educated person. The test will also include questions relating to India and its neighboring countries, especially pertaining to History, Polity & Constitution, Sports, Art & Culture, Geography, Economics, General Policy, Everyday Science, Scientific Research, National/International Organizations/Institutions and Current Affairs etc.

General Intelligence and Reasoning Ability: The syllabus of General Intelligence includes questions of both verbal and non-verbal types. Test may include questions on analogies, similarities, differences, space visualization, problem solving, analysis, judgment, decision making, visual memory, discrimination, observation, relationship, concepts, arithmetical reasoning, verbal and figure classification, arithmetical number series etc.

General English and General Hindi: In addition to the testing of candidate’s understanding and comprehension of the English and Hindi Languages, its Vocabulary, Grammar, Sentence Structure, Synonyms, Antonyms and its correct usage etc. would also be tested.

Arithmetic and Numerical Ability: The test of Arithmetical and Numerical Abilities will cover Number System including questions on Simplification, Decimals, Fractions, L.C.M., H.