Public Employment: Can Reservation Claims Be Considered Even If Caste Certificates Were Not Produced Before Cut Off Date? SC Refers To Larger Bench [Read Order]

The Supreme Court has observed that allowing the applicants to public posts to submit certificates in proof of their claim of reservation subsequent to the notified cut-off date would create administrative chaos.

The bench of Justices Mohan M. Shantanagoudar and R. Subash Reddy referred the matter to a larger bench to reconsider the observations made in Ram Kumar Gijroya vs Delhi Sub. Services Selection Board.

In Ram Kumar Gijroya, it was held that claims for inclusion in the OBC category can be considered even in cases where certificates were not produced by the applicants before the cut-off date notified in the advertisement.

In the present case, the Court was considering a SLP filed against Delhi High Court order by an applicant to the post of Subordinate Services of Delhi Subordinate Services Board. In the appeal, he had relied on the judgment in Ram Kumar Gijroya. The petitioner, had claimed to be an OBC candidate while submitting his application without enclosing a certificate from the competent authority. As he did not submit the required certificate from the competent authority before the cut-off date, he was not treated as an OBC candidate. Therefore he was not issued an appointment letter, though he secured marks above the cut-off point in the OBC category.

Addressing this contention, the bench observed:

In view of the acute problem of unemployment, whenever few vacancies are notified by any public authority, it is common that thousands of applicants apply for such posts. If the applicants are permitted to rectify applications after cut-off dates, the same would render the scrutiny process indefinite. In the course of such recruitment process, many persons, though they belong to the OBC category or SC/ST category, might not have obtained the required caste certificate before the cut-off date. Such persons, being law abiding and being conscious of the bar contained in the notification of the cut-off date, might not have applied seeking employment. In case the authority starts accepting caste certificates subsequent to the prescribed cut-off dates whenever a candidate approaches the authority, the remaining candidates who had not applied would definitely be affected. If the applicants are allowed to submit certificates in proof of their claim of reservation subsequent to the notified cut-off date, it would create administrative chaos.

The court noted that, in practice, for every advertisement, there are such belated claims claiming reservation, though the candidates did not submit certificate from the competent authority, before the cut-off date. Thus, in view of the general importance of the question, the Court referred the matter to larger bench. 

Case name: KARN SINGH YADAV vs. GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI
Case no.: SLP (C) NO.14948 OF 2016
Coram: Justices Mohan M. Shantanagoudar and R. Subash Reddy

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