Candidates participating in a selection process are estopped from challenging the selection criteria post-failure, especially when misrepresenting their qualifications.

Order :

(SUDESH BANSAL, J.)

1. Though, the writ petition has been listed on the second stay application, however, with the consent of counsel for both parties, instant writ petition has been heard finally on merits.

2. Instant writ petition has been filed jointly by six petitioners on 08.04.2024 raising a grievance for not including the other category of physically disabled person except the category of Hard of Hearing (HH), to extend the horizontal reservation against 57 vacancies of Technical Helper-III advertised by the Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited dated 04.02.2022.

3. At the outset, it is noteworthy that as per Para No. 7 of the writ petition, it is an admitted case of petitioners that selection process for the post of Technical Helper-III pursuant to the advertisement dated 04.02.2022 has completed on 28.02.2023 and the appointment to the selected candidates have also been accorded by the JVVNL. Thereafter, petitioner filed instant writ petition on 08.04.2024 i.e. after expiry of more than a year.

4. During the course of arguments, counsel for petitioners admits that the benefit of reservation for candidates of PWBD has been confined by the respondent to only Hard of Hearing disabled persons and the petitioners, who suffers from Locomotor Disability have been deprived, however, it has emerged as an undisputed fact that petitioners applied and participated in the present recruitment process showing themselves to be suffering from the disability of Hard of Hearing and by concealing their actual disability of Locomotor and thereby obtained an opportunity to appear in the written examination. Nevertheless, thereafter, when during their medical examination and document verification, true category of disability of petitioners was found different, then the category of Hard of Hearing, they were not selected. Then after remaining unsuccessful in the selection process and after completion of selection process, pursuant to advertisement dated 04.02.2022, the petitioners have preferred this writ petition.

5. It appears that apart from the aforesaid grievance, petitioners have also raised other issues that the vacancies for 3% disabled persons from the year 2001-2002 to 2018-19 and 4% vacancies from the year 2019-20 to 2020-21 were not determined and not shown as backlog in the advertisement dated 04.02.2022. Further the appointment against few of the 57 posts, which were kept reserved for Hard of Hearing candidates only, have been given to the candidates belonging to General category as well, hence, their appointment be cancelled.

6. As far as first issue of confining the reservation to HH category persons only is concerned, this Court finds that in the advertisement dated 04.02.2022, it was specifically indicated that the horizontal reservation to physically disabled person is available only to PWBD-HH. This fact was highlighted by showing asterisk (*) mark in below the table of vacancies and specific Clause No.2 (x) of the advertisement was inserted, which reads as under:-

“(x) Persons with Benchmark Disabilities of ‘Hard of Hearing’ (HH) only are eligible for reservation. A person applying as Persons with Benchmark Disabilities must be issued a certificate of disability of 40% or more by the Medical Board.”

(underline is mine)

7. Now after completion of selection process and grant of appointment, petitioners have raised the issue of not granting benefit of PH reservation to other categories and simultaneously, challenge has been made to the record of Notes of Meeting dealing with the present recruitment on the post of Technical Helper-III under the Technical Workmen Service Regulations, 1975. The Minutes have been placed on record with the writ petition as Annexure-11. A perusal of Minutes goes to show that it has specifically been decided by the Committee that considering the nature of employment of Technical Helper-III and involvement of hazards of high voltage current and their mobility in the field, the reservation has been provi