Gaurav Verma vs Airport Authority of India

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2026 Supreme(Del) 141

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
SANJEEV NARULA
Gaurav Verma – Appellant
Versus
Airport Authority of India – Respondent

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioners: Mr. Ramesh Chandra Singh, Ms. Prakriti Roy, Adv.
For the Respondents:Mr. Amit Bardhan Mohanty, Dr. Neelankshi Choudhary, Mr. Raveesh Kumar Tripathi, Advocates with Mr. Y.S. Choudhary, Manager (Law), AAI, Ms. Pratima N. Lakra, CGSC with Mr. Shailendra Kumar Mishra, Ms. Mansi Aggarwal, Mr. Chanakya, Advocates.

Table of Content
1. challenge of non-inclusion in recruitment (Para 1 , 2)
2. arguments on merit and age relaxation impact (Para 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 14)
3. core questions of entitlement versus age relaxation (Para 16 , 19 , 22)
4. legal implications of horizontal reservation (Para 24 , 26 , 28 , 30)
5. conclusions on ex-servicemen reservation policy (Para 38)

JUDGMENT :

SANJEEV NARULA, J.

1. The Petitioners assail their non-inclusion in the list of candidates called for document verification for recruitment to Non-Executive Cadres of the Airport Authority of India,, “AAI” Northern Region, with document verification scheduled on 9^th July, 2025 and 10^th July, 2025.

2. The case, though set-up as a grievance of “merit being ignored”, turns on a narrower legal axis. The Petitioners are ex-servicemen. The subject recruitment provides horizontal reservation for the category of “ex- servicemen”. The Petitioners assert that they secured marks higher than the last shortlisted candidate in the unreserved segment and, therefore, deserve to “migrate” to the unreserved category, “UR category” for the purpose of being called for document verification.

3. The Respondents resist the petition on th