ORDER :

K.Sarath, J.

1. This writ petition is filed questioning the action of the respondent No.2 in not including the petitioner’s name in the selection list under Economically Weaker Section quota in pursuance to the Group-I Notification vide Notification No.2/2024 dated 19.02.2024 and inclusion less meritorious candidates as illegal and arbitrary and declare that the petitioner is entitled to be selected and appointed to the posts in one of the Grade-I service based on her merit/rank/marks as an E.W.S candidate.

2. Heard Sri M. Surender Rao, learned Senior Counsel for Sri Rama Rao Kilaru, learned counsel for the petitioner, Smt M. Shalini, learned Government Pleader for Services-II for the respondent No.1 and Sri P.S.Raja Sekhar, learned Standing Counsel for the respondent No.2.

CONTENTIONS OF THE PETITIONER

3. Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a Post Graduate and belongs to O.C Category and Economically Weaker Section (for brevity ‘EWS’). Pursuant to the Notification No.4/2022 dated 26.04.2022 issued by the respondent No.2 inviting online applications from the qualified applicants to the post of Group-I services in the State of Telangana, the petitioner made online application under reservation of Economically Weaker Sections and uploaded her certificate mentioned at Clause XV of sub-Para 10 of para IV apart from other certificates. She has appeared for preliminary test held on 16.10.2022 and the same was cancelled due to leakage of paper. On instructions of the respondent No.2, the petitioner has again appeared for the preliminary test. Subsequently, the respondent No.2 has cancelled Notification No.4/2022 and issued fresh Notification No.2/2024 dated 19.02.2024. In response to the same the petitioner made online application under Economically Weaker Sections, appeared for preliminary test and qualified for main examination and in the main examination secured a general rank of 418 and secured 458.500 out of 900 marks. The respondent No.2 issued Notification for verification of certificates and the name of the petitioner was figured in the said Notification and the petitioner has submitted an attestation form on 15.04.2025 and also submitted basic information data (checklist) on 16.04.2025 and the acknowledgment indicated that she has submitted all the certificates.

4. Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner further submits that the respondent No.2 published a result notification on its website on 24.09.2025 containing the Hall Ticket numbers of 562 candidates, but the Hall Ticket number of petitioner does not figure in the said Notification. He submits that as the petitioner applied for Group-I Services under E.W.S. reservation, qualified for the certificates verification and produced relevant Income/E.W.S. certificate at the time of verification, she is entitled to be considered for appointment in preference to the candidates who seems lesser marks or merit and non- consideration of her candidature in the selection process after certificate verification stage as illegal and arbitrary and requested to allow the writ petition.

CONTENTIONS OF THE RESPONDENTS

5. Learned Standing Counsel for the respondent No.2 basing on the counter submits that as per the impugned recruitment Notification No.2/2024, the Income Certificate for the financial year prior to the year of application issued by the revenue authorities not below the rank of Tahsildar working under Telangana Government in the name of the candidate with total income of the family below 8 lakhs for claiming EWS reservation was for the year 2022-23 and valid for the year 2023-24, but the petitioner has submitted EWS Certificate issued for the year 2021-2022 obtained thorough Mee-Seva and further she has submitted manually issued EWS Certificate for the year 2022-2023 at the time of certificate verification, which are not in accordance with the Government orders and failed to submit appropriate certificate for EWS category as prescribed in