CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI OA No. 3804/2022 Reserved on : 28.07.2025 Pronounced on : 05.08.2025 Hon’ble Mrs. Harvinder Kaur Oberoi, Member (J)

Hon’ble Dr. Sumeet Jerath, Member(A)

Sh. Girdhari Lal Jakhar, aged 26 years (Roll No. 9430698)

S/o Sh. Nanuram Jakhar R/o village Basda, Post- Jorpur Via Jobner, Rajasthan-303328 ....Applicant (By Advocate : Mr. Rajinder Pal Singh)

Versus The Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Sri Aurobindo Marg, Ansari Nagar, Ansari Nagar East, New Delhi-110029 ... Respondents (By Advocate: Mr. R. V. Sinha)

O R D E R Hon'ble Dr. Sumeet Jerath, Member (A):

This OA has been filed by the applicant under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 seeking the following reliefs:-

“i. Allow the OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) Certificate dt. 13.09.2022 of the Applicant be allowed to be a valid certificate for the period of 01.04.2020 to

31.03.2021, ii. Direct the Respondent to accept the timely submission of OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) Certificate dt. 13.09.2022 for the Financial Years 2020-21 given by the Applicant, iii. Quash the Rejection Letter dated 13.12.2022 and declare the rejection therein as null and void, iv. Direct the Respondent to resume the recruitment process of the Applicant for the post of Driver Ordinary Grade (Grade C) under the OBC (NCL) category with all consequential benefits, v. Pass such further and other orders as this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper.”

2. The factual matrix of the case as per the counsel of the applicant is that the applicant an OBC (NCL) candidate applied for the post of Driver Ordinate (Grade C) in lieu of the advertisement issued by the respondents for recruitment to various posts. He participated in the selection process including the written exam. Vide Result Notification No. 88/2022 dated 18.05.2022 he scored 161 marks out of 200 and obtained 5^th Rank. Pursuant to the verification format issued by the respondents, the applicant got his OBC (NCL) certificate verified by the respondents on 25.05.2022 and submitted it on 01.06.2022 along with an affidavit and applications explaining the reason as to why he could not submit the certificate for the year 2020-21. The reason was COVID 19 pandemic and consequent lockdown due to which he could not lay his hands on the certificate for the financial year 2020-21 and requested the respondents to accept his certificate for the year 2017-18. However, vide notice dated 07.09.2022 the respondents asked him to submit his OBC (NCL) certificate for the year 2020-21 for verification of his caste during that period within 15 days. In response to the same the applicant again tried to explain the reason for non-submission of the said certificate and stated that he has applied for the same and requested to accept the tentative certificate issued by the competent authority. Later he submitted the certificate for 2020-21 dated 13.09.2022 on 14.09.2022 before the deadline of 22.09.2022 along with a representation to the respondents to accept the same. However, ignoring his requests, the respondents issued a rejection letter dated 13.12.2022 vide which his candidature was cancelled on the count of non-submission of the OBC (NCL) certificate for financial year 2020-21. Hence the applicant is before us for ventilation of his grievance.

3. The counsel of the applicant argued assiduously using the following grounds :-

“A. The applicant belongs to the category of OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) and is qualified to take benefits granted to this category for the post of Driver Ordinary Grade (Grade C), granted upon him under Article 16 of the Constitution of India, 1950.

B. The respondent had asked for OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) Certificate for the Financial Year 2020-21, although the respondent had already verified the applicant's Certificate for the year 2017-18. It is pertinent to mention that the process of obtaining Caste Certificate is a laborious and complex task and the same was not possible earlier.