JUDGMENT :

1. This is a bunch of four special appeals which arise out of a common judgment and order dated 19.10.2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in writ petitions no. 5392 (Writ-A) of 2022 (Poonam Dwivedi Vs. State of U.P. and others); Writ Petition No. 6974 (Writ-A) of 2022 (Divya Awasthi Vs. State of U.P. and others); Writ Petition No. 6911 (Writ-A) of 2022 (Archana Saxena Vs. State of U.P. and others); Writ Petition No. 5264 (Writ-A) of 2022 (Komal Vs. State of U.P. and others) and Writ Petition No. 6357 of 2022 (Shanu Tiwari Vs. State of U.P. and others as well as in Writ Petition No. 2109 of 2022 (Thakura Devi and Another Vs. State of U.P. and others). Since the issue of fact and law is common in all the four appeals, hence, they are being decided by this common judgment.

2. In order to appreciate the controversy involved in the instant appeals, certain facts leading up to the appeals are being noticed hereinafter. For the sake of convenience, the facts are being noted from leading Special Appeal No. 467 of 2022, however, wherever required the respective data and dates relating to the contesting respondents/writ petitioners will be noted at the appropriate place.

3. The U.P. Subordinate Service Selection Commission had issued an advertisement on 15.12.2021 for filling up 9212 posts of health workers (female). The last date for submission of the application form was 05.01.2022. In pursuance of the said advertisement, the main written examination was conducted on 08.05.2022 wherein the petitioners before the writ court had all appeared. The results were declared on 26.05.2022 and all the petitioners before the writ court were declared successful in the main examinations and then they were required to appear in the next level examination which was held between 09.06.2022 to 18.06.2022 and after the eligibility documents were verified, the final results were declared on 06.08.2022 where the names of the petitioners before the writ court did not find mention and it is in the aforesaid backdrop that the writ petitions came to be filed.

4. The issue raised before the writ court was that all the writ petitioners before the writ court were claiming the benefit of reservation under the Economic Weaker Section segment.

5. It has been the specific case of the writ-petitioners before the writ court that they all possess the requisite income certificate which clearly indicated that they were covered by the eligibility criteria for the grant of such reservation for economically weaker section and that the Commission had arbitrarily ignored the said certificates.

6. It is in light thereof it was prayed by the writ petitioners that the final select list made on 06.08.2022 be set aside and further direction was sought that the said select list may not be given effect to prior to considering the case of the petitioners who were eligible to be given the benefit of reservation under the EWS segment.

7. The U.P. Subordinate Service Selection Commission contested the claim of the writ petitioners before the writ court by filing a counter affidavit and raised the plea that the certificate submitted by the writ petitioners was not in accordance with the advertisement and was defective.

8. It was also pleaded that the EWS certificate was neither in consonance with the format issued by the Government of Uttar Pradesh which was in furtherance of the Government Orders dated 18.02.2019 and 14.03.2019 and that the said EWS certificate did not relate to the financial year in question, hence, the same was not found appropriate for being considered. It was also pleaded that since the certificate was not found valid of the writ petitioners, consequently, they were considered in the open category and as they did not meet the cut-off in the open category, hence, their names did not find place in the select list. It was also urged that the writ petitions were bad for non-impleadment of the necessary parties as the persons who have been selected had not been i