The alteration of vacancy notifications does not confer vested rights if done lawfully within established reservation guidelines.

ORDER

Per: RAMESH SINGH THAKUR, MEMBER (J):

1. The present Original Application has been p referred a gainst Memorandum No. R&E/77-17/2020 dated 19.05.2021 ( Annexure A -1) t o the extent it relates to Hamirpur Postal Division w hereby o ne v acancy reserved for EWS Category has been excluded and g iven t o u nreserved category ignoring the claim of the applicant who b elongs t o E WS Category, and further against Memorandum d ated 2 4.05.2021 (Annexure A-3) issued by Respondent No.2 whereby t he r esult o f t he Postman/Mail Guard Examination 2020 has been declared t o t he e xtent it pertain Hamirpur Division whereby the vacancy r eserved f or E WS Category has been excluded and vide Annexure A-1 t he v acancies h ave been increased from 2 to 3 and no reservation has b een p rovided t o EWS Category. The applicant has prayed for reliefs as under:

“i) That the complete record of the case be called for;

ii) That Annexure A-1 dated 19.05.2021 changing t he v acancy p osition in Hamirpur Division from two to three and t hereafter m aking o f appointment for four posts vide Annexure A-3 to t he e xtent i t r elates to Hamirpur Division be quashed and set aside.

iii) It be declared that the applicant is entitled to a ppointment t o t he post of Postman as per merit and notification under E WS q uota w ith a s per all result 80 declared dated 31.01.2019 consequential b enefits from the date it has been made to the other s imilarly p laced employees.

iv) That this Hon'ble Tribunal may also pass any o ther o rder f or t he grant of relief to the applicant which it may deem f it i n t he p eculiar facts and circumstances of the case.

v) That the cost of the application may also be a warded i n f avour o f the applicant.”

2. Facts of the case in brief are as follows. The a pplicant, p resently working as Assistant Branch Postmaster (earlier k nown a s E xtra Departmental Delivery Agent/Mail Deliverer), j oined s ervice o n 01.08.1998 in Hamirpur Postal Division under the H .P. P ostal C ircle. T he applicant possesses the qualification of 10+2 a nd b elongs t o t he Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, d uly c ertified v ide certificate dated 11.12.2020 (Annexure A-4).

3. The applicant has submitted that as per the R ecruitment R ules o f 2019 governing the cadre of Postman/Mail Guard, 5 0% o f t he p osts a re to be filled through a Limited Departmental Competitive E xamination (LDCE) from amongst eligible Gramin Dak S evaks ( GDS). T he respondents issued Notification dated 28.11.2020 ( Annexure A -2), notifying vacancies f or the vacancy year 2020. I n H amirpur D ivision, two posts were notified, one reserved for ST category a nd o ne f or E WS category.

4. The applicant applied through proper channel u nder t he E WS quota a nd appeared in the LDCE held on 20.12.2020. T he a pplicant qualified t he written examination with 86 marks a nd w as d eclared successful for the Data Entry and Skill Test (DEST) s cheduled f or 26.03.2021, as per Memorandum dated 19.03.2021 ( Annexure A -5). The a pplicant further qualified the DEST, securing 3 2 m arks, a s p er t he consolidated result (Annexure A-6).

5. The r espondents issued Memorandum d ated 1 9.05.2021 (Annexure A-1), whereby the vacancy earlier reserved f or E WS c ategory was deleted and shown as unreserved, while another v acancy w as earmarked for SC category. Consequently, the revised v acancy p osition reflected one unreserved post, one for ST, and one for SC category.

6. Subsequently, vi