IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Suresh Kumar Kait, Neena Bansal Krishna, JJ.
Rakesh Meena – Appellant
Versus
Staff Selection Commission Through Its Regional Director – Respondent
W.P.(C) 4487 of 2017
Decided On : 22-03-2023
ST Category - Recruitment Dispute - 35/1/72-R.U. (SCT.V) - The court discussed the admissibility of caste certificate for candidates belonging to reserved categories upon migration to another state. It emphasized that the benefits and concessions for such candidates are admissible from the state of origin and not the state of migration. The court also highlighted the importance of the central list of scheduled tribes and the entitlement of candidates to reservation based on their state of origin. The judgment emphasized the entitlement of candidates to reservation based on their state of origin and not the state of migration.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner applied for recruitment in the ST category, scored 67 marks in the recruitment process, and claimed to have obtained 67 marks in the final marks list. However, he did not receive the appointment letter and filed a petition seeking a direction to the respondent to issue the appointment letter to him.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner had applied for and appeared in the recruitment process, qualified the written examination, PST/PER, and DME. The court also found that the petitioner's candidature was not accepted due to the rejection of his ST category certificate based on migration from Rajasthan to Delhi.
Issues: The issues revolved around the admissibility of the petitioner's ST category certificate, the entitlement to reservation based on the state of origin, and the rejection of the petitioner's candidature under the UR category due to overage.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the entitlement of candidates to reservation based on their state of origin and not the state of migration. It also highlighted the importance of the central list of scheduled tribes and the admissibility of caste certificates for candidates upon migration to another state.
Final Decision: The court directed the respondent to accept and take on record the caste certificate produced by the petitioner and to issue him an Offer of Appointment for the post of Constable (GD) as per his merit position from the date his batch mates in the examination of the year 2015 have been appointed. The petitioner's seniority shall be counted from the date of his batch mates as per his merit position.
JUDGMENT
Suresh Kumar Kait, J.
1. An advertisement/ Notice dated 24.01.2015 was published in Employment News/ Rozgar for recruitment to the post of Constables (GD), Samachar CAPFs, NIA 85 SSF and Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles, Examination, 2015. The applications were invited through online mode except for the State of Jammu & Kashmir, North Eastern States and Left Wing Extremism affected districts and border districts of the country, where option of applying through both, online as well as offline, mode was given. The eligible candidates were sent call letters for Physical Standard Test ('PST') and Physical Endurance Test ('PET') and those who qualify the PST and PET in both online and offline mode, were eligible for written examination. Thereafter, copies of supporting documents were to be sought from those candidates who qualify PST and PET and these were to be scrutinized after the written examination. The online examination was conducted in English and Hindi languages, whereas the offline examination was conducted in English, Hindi and regional language. After declaration of the result of written examination, the result of the shortlisted candidates was to be declared and call letters for Detailed Medical Examination ('DME') and Review Medical Examination ('RME') were to be issued. The final result of the selected candidates, state-wise without allocation of Force, was to be issued. On the basis of the said merit list, Force allocation was to be done.
2. The petitioner claims to have applied for recruitment in the aforesaid examination in the Scheduled Tribe ('ST') category; appeared in the written examination, medical examination and PET. In the final marks list, petitioner claims to have obtained 67 marks. However, the petitioner did not receive the appointment letter, though the other candidates, who had secured much less marks than the petitioner, were issued joining letter. Hence, the present petition has been filed by the petitioner seeking a direction to the respondent to issue appointment letter to him.
3. During the course of hearing, learned counsel appearing on behalf of petitioner submitted that petitioner had scored 67 marks in the recruitment process but since he did not receive the appointment letter, therefore, he approached the respondent. He was informed that his claim for reservation under the ST category was not admitted as per Government of India guidelines. Learned counsel submitted that it is admitted by respondent that if a candidate belonging to the SC/ST category migrates from one state to another State, on migration he does not lose his status of SC/ST from the state of origin.
4. Learned Counsel for petitioner placed reliance upon decision dated 24.09.2019 passed by this Court in W.P.(C) 7474/2017, titled as "Rohit Kumar Meena Vs. Union of India and another" and another decision dated 17.12.2019 in W.P.(C) 8171/2019, titled as "Krishna Vs. Union of India and Ors. in support of petitioner's case.
5. Learned CGSC appearing on behalf of respondent, on the other hand submitted that during the recruitment process, the candidates were required to submit their documents for verification at the time of Detailed Medical Examination and this exercise had to be undertaken by the CRPF, being the Nodal Agency for conduct of PET/PST, document verification, DME/RME and allocation of CAPFs. Next submitted that in the Advertisement notice dated 24.01.2015, at Point No.7 it was clearly mentioned that the candidature of a candidate would be provisionally accepted and the copies of the documents will be sought after medical examination and scrutinization thereof shall be undertaken after the written examination. Also, in Para-4C it was mentioned that those who wish to be considered against vacancies under reserved category or seek age relaxation, must submit requisite certificate. The certificate of category was required to be in the requisite format prescribed by the Government of India, or else the candidatur
Migrants cannot claim reservation benefits in a new state based on their original state's caste status, as established by Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution.
Reservation benefits are strictly confined to the State for which the caste is notified, and cannot be claimed across State lines based on marriage or migration.
A caste certificate's format does not negate its validity if it proves eligibility for OBC status, emphasizing the need for a pragmatic approach in interpreting reservation laws.
The court affirmed that benefits of caste-based reservations are non-portable across states; migrants must claim such benefits in their state of origin only, emphasizing socio-legal contextualization....
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