The absence of a valid UT-format EWS certificate invalidates the selection under EWS category per prescribed eligibility criteria.

ORDER

Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The applicants have filed the present Original Application under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 seeking the following reliefs: -

a) Order or direction seeking a quashment of select list notified by Service Selection Board in terms of notification No.JKSSB- SCRY/24/2023-03(E-7336923) dated 31-10-2024 to the extent of private respondent being in violation of the SRO 518 of 02- 09-2019.

b) Order or direction directing the respondents to adhere the SRO 518 of 02-09-2019 in its letter and spirit and select /appoint the applicant strictly on the basis of her merit obtained by her being a next meritorious candidate under EWS category.

c) Any other order which this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper may also be passed in favour of the applicant and against the respondents.”

2. The facts of the case as averred by the applicant in her pleadings, are as follows: -

a) The applicant, Ruqiya Tariq, aged 22 years, daughter of Tariq Hussain Sheikh, is a resident of Astanbala, Kishtwar, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. She is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, thereby entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Tribunal for the protection of her legal, statutory, and constitutional rights.

b) The post of Draftsman Civil in the Jal Shakti Department was advertised by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) vide Advertisement Notification No. 01 of 2023 dated 11.04.2023. The posts were earmarked for Divisional Cadres Jammu and Kashmir. The applicant, being fully eligible, applied for the said post under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category for both Divisional Cadres Jammu and Kashmir.

c) The essential qualification for the post was a two-year Draftsman Training Course Certificate or Diploma from any Government recognized institution, and the method of selection was based on a written objective type multiple-choice examination.

d) The applicant appeared in the written examination held on 24.09.2023 and was subsequently called for document verification vide communication No. JKSSB- COAEOEXAMUT642023-03-7263602 dated 12.10.2023. Thereafter, the Selection Committee, vide Order No. 228-SSB of 2023 dated 13.10.2023, prepared the Provisional and Final Selection Lists notified vide Notifications dated 21.11.2023 and 29.01.2024 respectively.

e) The applicant is aggrieved by the impugned Selection List dated 31.10.2024 to the extent it includes the private respondent under the EWS category, alleging that the said selection violates SRO 518 of 2019 dated 02.09.2019. The applicant asserts that the private respondent belongs to Village Bherote, Tehsil Thanamandi, District Rajouri, which is a declared Resident of Backward Area (RBA), as substantiated by certificate dated 26.04.2015 issued in favour of Sajad Majahid S/o Majahid Hussain, a resident of the same area.

f) As per SRO 518 of 2019 , a person covered under the schemes of reservation for SC/ST or socially and educationally backward classes (including RBA) is not eligible to claim reservation under the EWS category. The applicant argues that the private respondent, being a resident of RBA area, was not legally entitled to an EWS certificate, and any such certificate obtained would be void ab initio, non est in law, and amount to misrepresentation.

g) It is the applicant’s contention that even if such an EWS certificate was issued to the private respondent, it could not confer any lawful benefit, as it was obtained contra