IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT INDORE BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE JAI KUMAR PILLAI ON THE 23^rd OF JANUARY, 2026 WRIT PETITION No. 18227 of 2022 SMT. VIJETA LOHAR Versus DEPARTMENT OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS Appearance:

Ms.Neerja Patne –Advocate for the petitioner.

Ms. Dristi Rawal – G.A for the respondents/State.

ORDER

This writ petition arising out of the impugned order dated

28.07.2022 (Annexure P/9) passed by the respondent Authorities cancelling the candidatureship of the petitioner in different selection processes for appointment to the post of Uchha Madhyamik Shikshak (different streams).

2. It is the case of the petitioner that she is residing within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court. Prior to marriage, she was residing in another State and belongs to a reserved class community, for which a valid Other Backward Class (OBC) Caste certificate was issued by the Competent Authority of that State.

3. It is further the case of the petitioner that upon marriage with a permanent resident of the State of Madhya Pradesh, the petitioner shifted her residence and was issued a domicile certificate of the State in accordance with the prevailing Government policy and circulars. After acquiring domicile status, the petitioner claims entitlement to all statutory and constitutional benefits available to members of the said reserved class in the State.

4. It is also the case of the petitioner that the petitioner possesses the requisite educational qualifications prescribed under the applicable recruitment rules governing the teaching cadre. The rules, framed under Article 309 of the Constitution of India, provide for reservation for women candidates and prescribe post-graduation and professional teaching qualifications as essential eligibility criteria.

5. It is further the case of the petitioner that pursuant to an advertisement issued by the competent examining authority, applications were invited for appointment to the post of Uchha Madhyamik Shikshak (different streams). The petitioner applied under the OBC category, participated in the selection process, qualified the written examination on merit and was accordingly called for document verification.

6. It is lastly the case of the petitioner that at the stage of document verification, the petitioner’s candidatureship was cancelled without issuance of any show-cause notice or affording an opportunity of hearing, solely on the ground of non-submission of caste certificate issued by the State of Madhya Pradesh resulting in denial of reservation benefits and prompting the filing of the present petition.

7. Per contra, Learned Government Advocate for the respondents/State submits that though the petitioner qualified the High School Teacher Eligibility Test-2018, she failed to produce a valid Domicile/Caste Certificate of Madhya Pradesh at the stage of document verification and had falsely declared herself as a domicile of Madhya Pradesh in the online application. The Tehsildar, after due scrutiny, rightly rejected her application for caste certificate, against which an alternative statutory remedy of appeal was available but not availed. In absence of a valid OBC Caste Certificate of Madhya Pradesh and in view of the applicable recruitment rules, the petitioner was rightly held ineligible and her candidatureship was lawfully rejected, entitling her no relief or interim relief as claimed.

8. Heard learned counsel for the both parties at length and examined the entire record available before this Court.

9. This Court holds that the benefit of reservation can be extended only to those candidates who possess a valid domicile certificate of the State of Madhya Pradesh. In the present case, although the petitioner was originally resident of another State, upon her marriage to a permanent resident of the State of Madhya Pradesh, she is not to be treated as migrants and for all service and reservation-related purposes, she shall be reckoned as domiciled residents of the State of Madhya Pr