JUDGMENT :

1. By means of the present petition, the petitioner has prayed for issuing a writ of mandamus to command the respondent no.3 to select the petitioner on the post of PAC, Constable under the Scheduled Tribes Category (Direct Recruitment 2018 on the post of Constable) and give appointment letter for training/joining. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that an advertisement was issued by respondent no.3 on 16.11.2018 for the direct recruitment on the post of Constables. As per the advertisement, total vacancy was divided in two groups as (Ka) Constable Nagrik Police and (Kha) Constable State Armed Constabulary. Learned counsel submits that the petitioner applied through online under the Scheduled Tribes Category enclosing the caste certificate dated 04.08.2012 issued by the Tehsildar. It has also been submitted that after verifying all the documents, the respondents issued the admit card to the petitioner for the written examination in which the petitioner was declared successful and called for the document verification on 26.12.2019. The petitioner was again called for the physical examination on 07.01.2020 in the reserve police line, Ayodhya. The petitioner participated in the physical examination under the General Category and he was declared successful. The respondent no.3 declared the result on 02.03.2020 in which the petitioner has been declared unsuccessful.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has relied on the Government Order dated 01.08.2019, which is placed on record as Annexure 9 with the paper book and submitted that the Government Order specifically states that after 01.04.2015, the caste certificate will be issued through online and there is no requirement for the verification of those documents which have been issued after 01.04.2015 and prior to it, the same competent authority shall verify the said documents. Learned counsel also submitted that one similarly situated person namely Shubham Kharwar has also applied for the same post and he has submitted the certificate issued in the year 2012 and his candidature was considered and he was declared successful in the Scheduled Tribes Category.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that once the petitioner had applied for the post against Scheduled Tribes Category as such his result should have been declared against the said category and he could not have been treated to be a general category candidate. It is also contended that in case the candidature of the petitioner was considered as Scheduled Tribes Category candidate he would have been declared as selected in the said category inasmuch as cut off marks for the general category candidates were higher vis-a-vis the candidates who were selected in the Scheduled Tribes Category.

4. In support of his arguments, learned counsel for the petitioner has relied on a judgment dated 25.11.2016 passed by a coordinate Bench of this Court in Service Single No.5312 of 2011 wherein direction was issued to consider the candidature of the petitioner in that category in which he was applied for the post. It is, thus, contended that once the petitioner had applied against Scheduled Tribes Category along with his caste certificate, consequently the respondents have patently erred in treating him as a general category candidate and thus a prayer has been made for consideration of the case of the petitioner by treating him as a Scheduled Tribes Category candidate and for giving him appointment.

5. Per contra, learned counsel for the State has vehemently opposed the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and submitted that as per the advertisement dated 16.11.2018, the caste certificate was required to be issued on or before 01.04.2018 by the competent authority. The caste certificate which has been submitted by the petitioner along with the application was admittedly issued in the year 2012. It has been submitted that the candidature of the petitioner has rightly been considered and re