Validity of the petitioner's computer course certificate and the timeliness of her representation submission.

JUDGMENT :

Supplementary counter affidavit filed by respondent is taken on record. Miscellaneous application (IA/12796/2023) made therefor, stands disposed of.

2. By means of this writ petition, petitioner has sought the indulgence of this Court for a prayer of writ of certiorari and to quash the order dated 07.01.2020 passed by respondent-commission and further consequential relief to permit her to appear in the Mains Examination of Uttarakhand Secretariat/Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC), Additional Private Secretary (APS) Examination 2017, in which she was declared successful in preliminary examination conducted by the respondents.

3. The facts of the case shorn of unnecessary details are that the petitioner, who is otherwise eligible, submitted her candidature for the post of Additional Private Secretary in Uttarakhand Secretariat/UKPSC, APS Examination 2017 pursuant to advertisement dated 31.07.2017 (Annexure no.1 to the writ petition). The petitioner appeared in the Preliminary Examination and she was declared successful provisionally vide result declared on 11.04.2018, for the reason that her certificate which she annexed as Computer Course Certificate, was not found fit by the Commission. The respondent-Commission vide order dated 14.10.2019 declared the petitioner as ineligible as due to the deficiency mentioned hereinabove and her name found placed at S.No.611 of the said letter, which reflects the reason for her being ineligible (Annexure No.6 to the rejoinder affidavit). According to the said rejection order, as per the terms and conditions of the advertisement regarding the educational qualifications, the petitioner should possess one year Computer Course Certificate alongwith her graduate degree, from a recognized Institution/University, but her certificate which she produced from APTEC Computer Education ADSE (Shikhar Project) does not mention the period of course undergone by her. However, by the same letter, the petitioner was given one month’s time ending on 04.11.2019 to represent regarding the ineligibility so pointed out to the respondent-Commission by filing a representation and it has also been cautioned in the said letter that no representation received after 04.11.2019 shall be considered.

4. According to learned counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner submitted a representation to the respondent-Commission on 25.10.2019 annexing all the photocopies of the marksheets (Performance Statement of Module-1 to Module-6A) and the photocopy of diploma course in computer from APTEC Computer Education. The respondent-Commission decided the representation of the petitioner vide order dated 07.01.2020 (Annexure No.6 to the writ petition) and rejected it for the reason that according to the Commission, the petitioner has not submitted the cogent evidence in support of her documents/Computer Certificates on the last date of receipt of the representation i.e. 04.11.2019.

5. It is against this order of rejection of the candidature of the petitioner, she is before this Court.

6. Respondent-Commission has filed counter affidavit and from the language of Para 9 of counter affidavit, it is proved beyond doubt that the petitioner has submitted her representation prior to the last date of submission of representation i.e.04.11.2019 in the office of Commission. The reason for not accepting the representation of the petitioner is reflected in Para 9 of the counter affidavit filed by the Commission, which is reproduced below:

“Para 9: That the contents of para no. 7 & 8 of the writ petition are not admitted, hence denied. In reply thereof it is submitted that vide notification dated 11-04-2018 the result of the Preliminary Examination was declared, wherein the petitioner was declared successful to participate in the main examination.

It is also pertinent to mention here that in Note-1 of the aforesaid examination result dated 11.04.2018, it has clearly been mentioned that the said examination result is being declared o