ORAL JUDGMENT

Date : 06-08-2024 Heard Mr. Ashok Chaudhary, learned Senior counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Harsh Singh, learned counsel for the Bihar State University Service Commission.

2. The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking a direction to the respondents to accept the Non Creamy Layer certificate of the petitioner and treat her candidature as reserved category candidate of Backward Class for her appointment as Assistant Professor in department of Economics in any constituent college of the State of Bihar, pursuant to advertisement dated 21.09.2020 issued by the Bihar State University Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’).

3. By the aforesaid advertisement issued by the Commission, the Commission has invited application for filling up various posts of Assistant Professors including Assistant Professor in department of economics, wherein 30 posts of Assistant Professor (Economics) for candidates of Extremely Backward Class was also advertised. As per Clause 8.3.5 and 11.1 of the advertisement, the applicant was required to submit various documents specified therein including the Non Creamy Layer Certificate by those candidates, who are claiming reservation under Extremely Backward Class category. The last date for submission of the application along with the documents prescribed was 02.11.2020, which was extended to 20.12.2020 (according to the Commission, it was 30.12.2020).

4. It is the case of the petitioner that admittedly the petitioner did not submit N.C.L. certificate along with her application within the stipulated time for submission in the advertisement. The petitioner now prays for a direction to the respondents that she being a candidate belonging to Extremely Backward Class has now been issued Non Creamy Layer certificate and that her N.C.L. certificate may now be accepted and she may be treated as candidate belonging to Extremely Backward Class. It is relevant to mention here that the Commission, in the absence of N.C.L. certificate submitted by the petitioner, had treated the petitioner as general candidate.

5. The Commission has filed a counter affidavit, wherein it has been stated that Clause 8.3.2 of the advertisement categorically required that the candidate belonging to the Backward Class / Extrement Backward Class category to mandatorily submit amongst others the Non Creamy Layer certificate. Clause 8.3.5 of the advertisement makes it abundantly clear and categorical that the benefit of reservation extended to a reserved category candidate would not be available if relevant certificates are not enclosed with the application and no claim for such reservation would be entertained at any subsequent stage. It further states that Clause 11.1 of the advertisement provides that candidates should send the downloaded hard copy of the application form enclosing all required certificates through registered / speed post so as to reach the Commission before 24.11.2020 till 5 pm, which was extended to 30.12.2020 till 5 pm.

6. Learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner has not disputed that the application form along with the relevant certificates including N.C.L. certificate was required to be submitted before 5 pm of 30.12.2020 and that the petitioner admittedly did not submit N.C.L. certificate along with her application before the last date for submission, i.e., on 30.12.2020.

7. The first set of his argument for acceptance of Non Creamy Layer certificate of the petitioner after the last date of submission prescribed by the Commission in the advertisement is by referring to Annexure B of the counter affidavit filed by the Commission. Annexure B is a proceeding of 54th meeting of the Commission held on 12.08.2021 under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajvardhan Azad, Chairman of the Bihar State University Service Commission. Learned senior counsel has specifically referred to Clause 2 thereof to contend that in the aforesaid 54th meeting of the Commission held on 12.08.2021,