UP Public Services (Reservation For EWS) Act | Allahabad HC Declines EWS Reservation For Recruitment Of 69000 Asst Teachers Initiated Before Commencement Of Act

The Allahabad High Court has refused to extend the benefit of reservation under the Economically Weaker Section category for recruitment on the post of Assistant Teachers held in 2020, as the process was initiated before the enactment of the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for EWS) Act, 2020.

The state of UP enacted the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for EWS) Act, 2020 (U.P. Act No. 10 of 2020), published in the Gazette on 31.08.2020, for implementation of reservation for Economically Weaker Sections of the society.

Section 1(2) of the Act provides that the Act shall be deemed to come into force from 1^st February 2019. Section 13 of the Act provides that the Act shall not be applicable to selection processes that have been initiated before the commencement of the Act. All such processes initiated before the commencement of the Act shall be dealt with in accordance with the laws in force before the commencement of the Act.

“Selection process of appointment of 69000 posts of Assistant Teachers was commenced from 16.05.2020 i.e. after 103rd Constitutional Amendment but before enactment of U.P. Act No.10 of 2020 i.e. on 31.08.2020, therefore, as per savings clause (Section 13), provisions of U.P. Act No. 10 of 2020 would not be applicable and it would be governed by provisions of law and Government Order as they stood before the commencement of U.P. Act No. 10 of 2020,” held Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery.

Factual Background

In December 2018, the State Government issued a Government Order to conduct the Assistant Teacher Recruitment Examination 2019. All petitioners stood qualified in the Unreserved (General) category. Subsequently, the State Government initiated the process of election of 69000 posts of Assistant Teachers for appointment in primary education in the State of U.P.

Pursuant to the 103rd Amendment in the Constitution of India, the petitioner obtained their EWS certificates seeking a 10% reservation of the EWS category in the recruitment process. During the pendency of the writ petition, the selection process was completed, and the petitioners were not selected as they were placed lower in merit.

Counsel for petitioners argued that the petitioners ought to have been given the advantage of the Constitutional Amendment as the examination was notified after the amendment was notified. It was argued that since the EWS reservation was adopted by the State Government on 18.02.2019, the same applied to this recruitment process. Further, it was argued that the result was not declared category-wise but as a whole, where candidates were not segregated in the General/ SC/ ST/ OBC categories.

Counsels for respondents submitted that at the time when the advertisement was issued for the Examination in December 2018, there was no horizontal reservation for the EWS category. It was argued that since the Government Order adopting the RWS reservation was issued after the commencement of the recruitment process, the criteria for recruitment could not be changed mid-way.

Further, it was pointed out that the entire recruitment process is online in software developed by the National Informatics Center. Even though there was an inadvertent delay in completing the process, the EWS reservation cannot be applied retrospectively after the process of filing up the 69000 vacancies on the posts of Assistant Teachers had already begun.

High Court Verdict

The questions for consideration of the Court were: whether the Constitutional Amendment would apply to the recruitment process which commenced before the amendment was notified; whether the adoption of the Constitutional Amendment by the State Government in 2019 applies to a notification issued by the State Government regarding the same recruitment process in 2020.

Referring to Section 1(2) and Section 13 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for EWS) Act, 2020, the Court observed that the examination for recruitment of Assistant Teachers was held before the commencement of the Act, however, the further selection process was initiated pursuant to notification issued in 2020, i.e., after the Act came into force.

Accordingly, the Court held that due to the savings clause in Section 13, the Act of 2020 will not apply to further recruitment proceedings as they were initiated on 16.05.2020 whereas the Act was enacted on 31.08.2020.

By the Office Memorandum dated 18.02.2019 the State of U.P. decided to provide 10% reservation to EWS in all State services as well as in Educational Institutions and also determine factors for granting benefits to EWS as per the Memorandum. Section 7 of the Act provides that the Office Memorandum dated 18.02.2019 should be deemed to have been issued under this section.

The Court held that by validating the Office Memorandum in Section 7 of the Act, the Office Memorandum if applied to any recruitment process would continue to legally apply. However, the Court held that it cannot be held that the said Office Memorandum will apply to all selection proceedings which commenced before the Act.

Accordingly, the Court held that the benefit of EWS category could not be extended to the petitioners.

Case Title: Shivam Pandey And 11 Others vs. State Of U.P. And 2 Others 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 153 [WRIT - A No. - 4063 of 2020]

Case Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 153

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