$~57 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Decided on 10.03.2025 + W.P.(C) 2871/2025 AYUSH SHUKLA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Kunwar Aditya Singh and Ms.Vartika Singh, Advocates.

versus NATIONAL THERMAL POWER CORPORATION LTD. & ANR.

.....Respondents Through: Mr. Akshit Pradhan, Mr. Yogesh Verma and Mr. Aakrist Goyal, Advocates for R-1.

Ms. Anushkaa Arora, SPC with Ms. Mahamaya Chatterjee, Govt. Pleader and Mr. Akash Dubey, Advocate for R-2.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN PRATEEK JALAN, J (ORAL)

1. The petitioner herein applied for appointment as an Engineering Executive Trainee [“EET”] 2023 in the Mechanical Engineering Discipline with respondent No. 1 - Nuclear Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.

[“NTPC”]. He seeks a direction for issuance of a call letter to him.

2. I have heard learned counsel for the parties.

3. The recruitment of EET commenced with an advertisement issued by NTPC on 06.10.2023, wherein 200 vacancies were advertised in the Mechanical Engineering Discipline. The petitioner submitted his application form on 18.10.2023, but did not receive a call letter.

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4. It is the petitioner’s contention that NTPC released a cut-off for shortlisting of candidates, based upon the candidate’s rank in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering [“GATE”], 2023. As far as the Mechanical Engineering stream is concerned, the cut-off was at an All-India Rank of 926 in the unreserved category. The petitioner has placed on record his GATE scorecard, which shows that he had attained a rank of 754 in the GATE-2023. It is on this basis that he challenges his exclusion from consideration.

5. The difficulty appears to be that in the application form filed by the petitioner, he made a mistake, in that he did not provide his GATE-2023 registration number, but instead provided his GATE score of 668. A copy of the application registration slip as annexed to the writ petition is reproduced below, with the relevant column highlighted:

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6. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner made an inadvertent error in filling in his GATE score, instead of the registration number, in the application form. He points out that his All-India Rank was 754 as opposed to the cut-off rank of 926, and the petitioner is, thus, a meritorious candidate who would have received a call letter but for this Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed W.P.(C) 2871/2025 Page 3 of 5 inadvertent error.

7. Learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, submits that the entire shortlisting of candidates was based upon their GATE-2023 scores and ranks, which could be accessed by NTPC, based upon the registration number in the application form. The GATE- 2023 examination was one of the qualifying criteria stipulated in the said advertisement. The importance of the GATE-2023 registration number was emphasised in the advertisement itself, in the following provisions, under the heading “HOW TO APPLY:”.

“1.Candidates need to apply online for NTPC EET-2023 on the website careers.ntpc.co.in or visit careers section at www.ntpc.co.in with their GATE-2023 registration number

2. Candidates will be required to upload their photograph &

enter GATE-2023 registration number during online application.

3. Read the instructions carefully and fill-in the online application form giving accurate information including the GATE-2023 registration number. After successful application, system will generate a unique application number. Candidates are required to download the application slip and keep the printout of the application slip which will be generated by the system after successful application.

4. Please ensure that the GATE-2023 registration number, which is mentioned on your GATE-2023 score card, is filled up correctly. Name should also be filled up as appearing in GATE score card. No request with respect to the change in any data entered by