Misrepresentation regarding marital status invalidates employment eligibility under applicable decentralized recruitment laws.

ORDER

Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The SWP/WP(C) No. 3433/2021 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A. No. 61/6099/2021 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

2. The present matter was filed before the Hon’ble High Court with following prayer:

a) “ allow the present writ petition;

b) command and direct the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 to recommend the name of the petitioner, who figures at S. No. 80 of the Selection list of Teachers District Cadre Jammu, pursuant to Advertisement Notification No. 05 of 2013 dated 02-03- 2013, to respondent No. 1 for appointment as Teacher, once the petitioner has clarified the remarks made in the remarks Column of the selection list against the name of the petitioner;

c) command and direct the respondent No. 1 to 3, to issue appointment orders in favour of the petitioner, once respondent Nos. 4 and 5 recommend the name of the petitioner for appointment as Teacher District Cadre Jammu;

d) restraining the official respondents from issuing appointment orders of the candidates figuring below the name of the petitioner in the selection list of teachers District Cadre Jammu, pursuant to advertisement Notice No. 05 of 2013 dated 02-03- 2013, before the name of the petitioner is recommended by respondent Nos. 4 and 5 to respondent No.1.

e) Any other writ, order or direction which this Hon’ble Court may deem fit or proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

3. The facts of the case as averred by the petitioner in her pleadings are as follows:

a) The petitioner, Sukriti Sharma, is in possession of the qualifications of B.A., M.A., and M.Ed. In response to Advertisement Notification No. 06 of 2013 dated 10.05.2013 (Item No. 470) issued by respondents No. 4 and 5, she applied for the post of Teacher, District Cadre Jammu.

b) A written test for the said post was conducted on 17.09.2013, in which the petitioner qualified and was shortlisted for interview. She appeared in the interview, and her name appeared in the final selection list published by the J&K Services Selection Board on 02.10.2015. The petitioner was shown to have secured 61.5805 merit points out of 100, figuring at Serial No. 80 in the selection list for District Cadre Jammu.

c) However, against her name in the selection list, a remark was recorded:

“Recommendation withheld and is subject to clarification from competent authority with regard to residential District and production of unmarried certificate.”

d) The petitioner contends that she has been residing in Nagrota Tehsil, District Jammu since before applying for the post and continues to do so. She was married at the time of applying pursuant to Advertisement Notification No. 05 of 2013 dated 02.03.2013, and this fact was duly disclosed in her application/OMR form. Although married to a person holding a Permanent Resident Certificate of Udhampur District, both she and her husband have been residing in the petitioner’s parental home at Jammu.

e) The petitioner had initially intended to apply for the post of Teacher in District Cadre Udhampur under the same advertisement but was informed by the officials of the respondent Board that she was ineligible since she did not fulfill the requirement of 15 years of continuous physical stay in District Udhampur. Consequently, she applied under District Cadre Jammu, where she was residing at the time.

f) It is further submitted that during the interview, the members of the Interview Committee advised the petitioner that she could be selected under District Cadre Jammu only if she submitted in writing that she was unmarried at the time of application. Acting on this advice, the petitioner did so. Her r