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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Manmohan, Navin Chawla, JJ.
Hemant Pokhriyal - Appellant
Versus
Staff Selection Commission - Respondent
W.P.(C) 4982 of 2021 & C.M. No. 15269 of 2021
Decided On : 01-10-2021
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. challenge to selection procedure based on reservations. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6) |
| 2. arguments against inclusion in general category due to relaxations. (Para 7 , 8 , 9) |
| 3. supreme court's interpretation on merit versus reserved categories. (Para 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 4. clarification on status and rights of reserved category candidates. (Para 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19) |
| 5. court's decision on relief and prospective application. (Para 20 , 21) |
JUDGMENT
Manmohan, J. (Oral)--Present writ petition has been filed challenging the selection procedure of the respondents for the post of Constable (GD) in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), NIA, SSF and Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles insofar as it debars a candidate from the reserved category from being adjusted against the General vacancy if the candidate has availed any relaxation irrespective of the fact that such relaxation is also available to the General category candidates.
ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER
2. Learned Counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner belongs to Other Backward Class (OBC) from the border guarding district of Uttarkashi, under the Garhwal division of Uttarakhand. He further states that the Petitioner applied for the post of Constable (GD) in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), NIA, SSF and Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles (AR) Examination, 2018 held by the Respondent No.1, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), pursuant to the Notification dated 21st July, 2018.
3. He further states that the Petitioner qualified in the computer based examination and was shortlisted for the Physical Efficiency Test (PET) and Physical Standard Test (PST) in which he availed the relaxations in the standards of height and chest as available to all the male candidates falling in the categories of Garhwalis, Kumaonis, Dogras, Marathas and candidates belonging to the States of Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. These relaxations as provided vis-a-vis general candidates by Clause 9(III) of the Examination Notification are reproduced below:
III. Physical Standard Test (PST):
Physical standard laid down for the post of Constable/Rifleman are:
| a. Height | Height (in cms) | |
| Male | Female | |
| General, SC & OBC candidates (except those mentioned below) | 170 | 157 |
| Relaxations: | ||
| The minimum height for the candidates falling in the categories of Garhwalis, Kumaonis, Dogras, Marathas and candidates belonging to the States of Assam, Himchal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir | 165 | 155 |
| b. Chest: | Chest (in cms: unexpanded/minimum expansion) | |
| General, SC & OBC male candidates (except those mentioned below) | 80/5 | N/A |
| Relaxations: | ||
| The minimum chest for male candidates falling in the categories of Garhwalis, Kumaonis, Dogras, Marathas and candidates belonging to the State of Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. | 78/5 | N/A |
(emphasis supplied)
4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner states that in the final result that was declared by the respondents on 21st January, 2021, the Petitioner had scored 73.1913 which, though more than the score secured by the last candidate selected in the unreserved category from his state (72.45198), was less than the score secured by the last candidate selected in the OBC (Border) category from his state (74.88390). He states that the Petitioner was not selected in either of the categories.
5. He states that subsequently it was revealed that the Petitioner was not accommodated in the un-reserved category because he had availed relaxation in the measurement of height and chest during the Physical Standard Test (PST). He submits that the relaxation that the Petitioner had availed was available not only for the OBC candidates but for all the candidates from the Garhwal area irrespective of their category. He states that since the relaxation availed by the Petitioner was also available to the candidates from the unreserved category, the petitioner should have been included in the final selection list of the unreserved category, having scored more than the c
AI
A reserved category candidate who qualifies based on merit and utilizes relaxations available to all candidates is eligible for selection in the general category, not counted against reserved vacanci....
Candidates selected based on merit without any category-specific relaxation should not be categorized under reserved vacancies but treated as part of the general category.
The relaxation provisions in recruitment processes should be applied uniformly to candidates from specific regions, irrespective of their reserved or un-reserved category, to avoid discrimination and....
Relaxation given in height or chest are available to candidates from a specific region, where the candidate belong to reserved or un-reserved category, cannot lead categorization of the candidates ex....
Relaxation given in height or chest are available to candidates from a specific region, where the candidate belong to reserved or un-reserved category, cannot lead categorization of the candidates ex....
relaxation given in height or chest are available to candidates from a specific region, where the candidate belong to reserved or un-reserved category, cannot lead categorization of the candidates ex....
Reservation – For allocation of unreserved vacancy to a candidate of reserved category, selection must be on ‘General Standard’ without availing any ‘Relaxed Standard’ in either eligibility or select....
Point of law: if a candidate who secured more marks than the last selected candidate, if a candidate from OBC/BC has secured more marks than the last selected candidate from open category, such candi....
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