By Hon'ble Mr. Anand Mathur, Member (A)

The instant Original Application (OA) has been filed by the

applicants under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985,

seeking the following relief(s):

i)

The result declared on 31^st December 2015 with regard to

Combined

Section

Officers/Stenographers

(Gr.B/Gr.I)

LDCE examination 2014 of category III be declared

arbitrary and illegal and be quashed not being in conformity

with the DOPT Guidelines especially the guideline

contained in DOPT OM of 2014 with reference to

Assessment of APARs.

ii)

A fresh DPC/Assessment Board be constituted to make the

assessment of APARs of all the candidates who have

qualified in the written examination of the said LDCE

examination of category III taking into consideration all the

applicable guidelines of DOPT especially the guideline that

DPC/Assessment Board should substantiate its assessment

by giving justifiable and sustainable reason including the

cases where the assessment of DPC/Assessment Board is

different from grading in APAR.

iii)

Quash the decision of UPSC dated 5.5.2017 by which the

Representation of the Applicants were disposed of

arbitrarily and on grounds completely unsustainable in law

as communicated by letter dated 31.5.2017.

iv)

Pass such other and further and further orders as this

Hon’ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper in the facts and

circumstances of this case.

Brief facts of the case, as projected by learned counsel for the

applicants,

are

that

the

UPSC

notified

Combined

Section

Officer/Stenographers Grade-I LDC Examination on 20.09.2014 and

conducted the same on 27/28.12.2014, which consisted of written exam in

4 OA No.3781/2017

which there were three papers carrying 500 marks. The persons who

cleared the written exam as per the standard set, their APARs were required

to be evaluated for which 100 marks were allocated, which totalled upto

600 marks.

2.1

The respondents uploaded the list of selected candidates on their

website on 31.12.2015, where names of both the applicants were not found

mentioned. Thereafter, in the 2^nd week of January, 2016 marks of all the

candidates qualified or unqualified were uploaded on the website. Both

applicants qualified in the written exam by securing 192 and 177 marks

respectively and consequently their APARs for the 5 preceding years were

taken up for evaluation i.e., APARs of 2010-11 to 2014-15. Though

applicant no.1 had outstanding grading for all the relevant APARs but had

(nil) no grading for the year 2013-14 as she was on maternity leave during

the said period, whereas applicant no.2 had outstanding grading for all 05

years. Applicant no.1 was given 65 marks out of 100 in the APAR

assessment though she had outstanding grading in four years for one year

she did not have marking in her APAR as she was on maternity leave. So

far as applicant no.2 is concerned, in APAR assessment he was given 80

marks out of 100 though he had outstanding grading in all 5 years.

2.2

However, on 16.01.2016 application under RTI seeking information

regarding year-wise marks on APARs was made by the applicant no.1,

which was replied to by the UPSC on 10.02.2016 giving modalities of

marking on APARs but it was stated that no year-wise breakup of marks are

maintained. Aggrieved, applicant no.1 preferred an appeal on 24.02.2016.

5 OA No.3781/2017

Applicants had sought further information regarding evaluation of APARs

of other candidates who qualified, which was replied by the UPSC on

30.03.2016 stating that no such record exists. Thereafter on 07.03.2017

applicant no.1 went to CIC in 2^nd appeal where the UPSC took the same

stand that no record exists. Applicant no.2 also sought similar information

on 21.01.2016 and it was replied on 17.02.2016 that no such record