Reserved on 28.11.2025 CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL ALLAHABAD BENCH, ALLAHABAD Original Application No.206 of 2020 Allahabad this the 14^th day of January, 2026 Present:

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Joshi, Member-(Judicial)

Hon'ble Mr. Anjani Nandan Sharan, Member- (Administrative)

Saurabh Singh Saini, aged about 26 years, S/o Sri Yashpal Singh Saini, Resident of House No. E/169A, Railway Station Colony, Izzat Nagar, District Bareilly.

………….Applicant By Advocate: Shri Vinod Kumar Versus

1. The General Manager, North Central Railway, Subedarganj, Allahabad.

2. Railway Recruitment Cell, North Central Railway Allahabad through its Chairman.

. . . . . . . . . Respondents By Advocate: Shri Anil Kumar

ORDER

Delivered by Hon'ble Mr. Anjani Nandan Sharan, Member-(A)

Heard Shri Vinod Kumar, learned counsel for the applicant and Shri Anil Kumar, learned counsel for the respondents.

2. The instant original application has been filed under section 19 of Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985 seeking the following reliefs:-

“(i) To issue an order or direction in the suitable nature quashing the impugned information/letter dated and order f. 20.07.20

30.11.2019 (Annexure No.A-1 to the original application).

(ii) To issue an order or direction in the suitable nature directing the respondents to include the name of applicant in the final select list and offer the appointment on group 'D' post in O.B.C. category with all Consequential benefits.

(iii) To issue any order or direction, which this Tribunal may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.

(iv) To award the cost of the application to the applicant.”

3. The brief facts of the case, as narrated by the applicants are that the Railway Recruitment Board has issued Centralized Employment Notice No.02/2018 on 10.02.2018 for recruitment of about 62,000 Group ‘D’ posts. The applicant, being eligible, applied under this notification and his application was accepted. He was issued a call letter and he appeared in the written examination held on 28.11.2018, in which he was declared successful. Thereafter, he qualified the physical efficiency test conducted on 04.04.2019. He was then called for document verification on 04.06.2019, where all his documents were found genuine. Subsequently, he appeared in the medical examination on 06.06.2019 and was declared medically fit in all respects for appointment to the Group ‘D’ post. Later, the recruitment cell uploaded information on its website stating that the candidature of 306 candidates had been cancelled for various reasons. While some candidates were declared medically unfit and given the option to appeal, the applicant’s name was also included in the cancelled list without any clear reason. On checking his status using his roll number, the applicant found that his candidature was cancelled vide orders dated 30.11.2019 and 28.07.2020 on the ground of mismatch of thumb impression, handwriting, or signature, without specifying at which stage this mismatch was found. The respondents have not issued and shows cause notice to the applicant prior to cancelling his candidature on the imaginary ground, because the thumb impression/signature/handwriting of the applicant could not be verified by any forensic lab or any expert opinion obtained and as such there is gross violation of principle of natural justice, which cancelling the candidature of the applicant. Similar cancellations have already been challenged and decided by the Tribunal in other cases. Being aggrieved by the action of the respondents, the applicants have filed the present original application.

4. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondents it has been stated that the Railway Recruitment Board issued CEN No. 02/2018 for recruitment to Level-1 (Group ‘D’) posts, including 4,762 posts in North Central Railway, Allahabad. The applicant applied online, appeared in the Computer Based Test on 28.11.2018, qualified the Physical Efficiency Test on 04.04.2019, and was called for document ve