A TSP Area Certificate is a mandatory requirement for candidates applying under the reserved category, and failure to provide it results in ineligibility, regardless of merit.

ORDER :

(Sameer Jain, J.)

PREFATORY REMARKS

1. With the consent of all the parties and considering that the instant petitions are of an akin and/or interwoven factual matrix, a common judgment is passed.

2. For the sake of convenience, the petitioner in SBCWP No. 1991/2022 titled as Narendra Singh Nathawat Vs. State of Rajasthan and Ors. shall hereafter, be referred as P1 and the petitioner in SBCWP No. 7856/2023 titled as Rahul Patidar Vs. State of Rajasthan and Ors. shall be referred as P2.

3. The present judgment is categorized into the following heads:

I) FACTUAL ASSERTIONS QUA SBCWP No. 1991/2022

II) FACTUAL ASSERTIONS QUA SBCWP No. 7856/2023

III) ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY LEARNED COUNSEL FOR BOTH THE SIDES

IV) DISCUSSION & FINDINGS

V) CONCLUSION

FACTUAL ASSERTIONS QUA SBCWP No. 1991/2022

3. The petitioner i.e. P1 was initially appointed as a ‘Probationer Trainee Helper-II’ in the Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (AVVNL) on 07.11.2019 and had completed his probation period on 13.01.2022. During the continuation of his service, P1 applied for the post of ‘Junior Engineer-I’, in pursuance to the advertisement dated 22.02.2021, issued by the respondents. P1 applied as an in-service candidate of Nigam (Application form of P1-Annexure-5). Vide circular dated 16.01.2020, issued by the respondents for the purpose of absorption of employees under the TSP Area or the Non-TSP Area, P1 got absorbed under the TSP Area. As per, point/para no. 11 of the said circular, the person who opts for absorption under the category of TSP Area/Scheduled Area, could not opt for transfer or posting outside the prescribed area. The grievance of P1 is that his candidature for the post of Junior Engineer-I, is not being considered under the ‘TSP Area’ category, despite the fact that he has been permanently absorbed under the said category, by way of the said clause of the noted circular, which reads as under:

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4. As per the provisions noted under Regulation No. 6(3) and 6(3a) of the AVVNL Scheduled Area Engineers, Ministerial and Class-IV service (Recruitment and other service condition) Regulations, 2017, options/applications were invited for the said absorption in/outside the close cadre services under the Scheduled Areas of Rajasthan. The said list prepared after due consideration of the authorities was then approved by the Managing Director, AVVNL, Ajmer. The name of P1 stands at serial no. 53 of the said approval order dated 30.03.2020 (Annexure-4).

5. It is an evident fact, that P1 was born in a TSP Area and is also a bonafide resident of the same (Annuexure-8). On 11.12.2021, P1 appeared in the online examination wherein, his name stood in the provisional merit list, issued by the respondents. Thereafter, on 29.01.2022 P1 was called for document verification along with other candidates, whose names were reflected in the provisional merit list.

6. The cause of action arose, when on the date of document verification, P1 was informed that his candidature was rejected due to non-availability of the certificate of TSP Area, issued by a Competent Authority. It was an admitted fact that the petitioner had applied under the category of in-service candidate, working under a TSP Area.

7. Hence, during the currency of the present petition, an interim protection was granted in the favour of P1, as is also reflected vide Annexure-7 in SBCWP No. 7856/2023.

FACTUAL ASSERTIONS QUA SBCWP No. 7856/2023

8. The respondents issued an advertisement dated 22.02.2021 for recruitment on various posts. Pursuant to the said advertisement, the petitioner i.e. P2, applied for the post of Junior Engineer-I (Electrical). As per the said advertisement 03 posts were reserved for the category under which P2 had applied i.e. in-service candidates of the Nigam.

9. Accordingly, P2 appeared in the online examination and