Delhi High Court
Mrs Manharleen Kaur vs Union Of India & Ors. on 11 July, 2022
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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of Decision : 11.07.2022
+ W.P.(C) 6872/2021
MRS MANHARLEEN KAUR ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. Gurmukh Singh Arora,
Mr.Kapil Madan & Mr.Saurabh Gauba, Advs.
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr.Jaswinder Singh, Adv. for R-1
Ms.Avnish Ahlawat, SC, GNCTD with
Mr.Nitesh Kumar Singh, Mr.Palak Rohmetra,
Ms.Tania Ahlawat, Ms.Lavanya Kaushik &
Ms.Aliza Allam, Advs.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE REKHA PALLI
REKHA PALLI, J (ORAL)
1. The petitioner, who is a lady belonging to the Sikh community,
has approached this Court being aggrieved by the action of
respondent nos.3 & 4 in not permitting her to appear in the
examination for selection to the post of PGT-Economics (Female)
held on 17.07.2021 even though she had, on the basis of the admit
card issued to her, reached the examination centre before the
closing time. It is the petitioner's case that she was informed that
she would not be permitted to appear in the examination till she
removed her metallic kara.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a
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lady following the Sikh religion and merely because she was
wearing a kara when she reached the examination centre, she
could not be denied permission by respondent nos. 3 & 4 to appear
in the examination. He submits that respondent nos.3 & 4 were
wholly unjustified in directing the petitioner to remove her kara as
a precondition for appearing in the examination which she rightly
refused to remove as the wearing of the metallic kara is one of the
basic tenets of Sikh religion. By placing reliance on the decision
dated 03.05.2018, of a Division Bench of this Court in W.P.(C)
7550/2017, 'DSGMC and Ors. vs. Union of India and Ors.', he
contends that every person practicing the Sikh religion is enjoined
to wear a kara and/or a kirpan as they are the primary articles of
faith for professing the Sikh religion.
3. He further submits that the reliance placed by the respondent nos.3
& 4 on the circular dated 19.07.2021 to urge that in case the
petitioner wanted to appear in the examination wearing a kara, she
ought to have reached the examination centre at least one hour
before the reporting time, is wholly misplaced as the said circular
was issued only on 19.07.2021, i.e., two days after the
examination was scheduled to be held. He, therefore, submits that
the respondents are wrong in urging that there was already a
notification/ circular informing the candidates desirous of wearing
a kara and/or kirpan, to reach the examination centre atleast one
hour before the reporting time.
4. He, therefore, contends that the respondent nos.3 & 4, having
wrongly denied the permission to the petitioner to appear in the
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examination, be now directed to make special arrangements for
holding a fresh examination for the one post which was directed to
be kept vacant pursuant to the interim directions issued by this
Court on 08.09.2021.
5. On the other hand, Ms. Avnish Ahlawat, learned counsel for the
respondent nos.3 & 4 submits that the said respondents have
always been permitting all Sikh candidates wearing kara and/or
kirpan to appear in examinations provided they reach the
examination centre one hour before the reporting time, and
therefore the petitioner's plea that the action of the respondents in
not permitting the petitioner to appear in the examination is
violative of her right to practice Sikh religion, is wrong and
without any basis. She submits that the petitioner having reported
at the examination centre at 1:28 pm on 17.07.2021, that is barely
two minutes before the closing time and that too in a full sleeves
dress, is herself to be blamed for being not permitted to appear in
the examination at that belated stage and therefore cannot now
shift the blame on the respondent nos.3 & 4 in missing the
examination. She, therefore, prays that the writ petition be
dismissed.
6. Having considered the submissions of learned counsel for the
parties and perused the record, more especially the Clauses of the
notification dated 24.06.2021 vide which applications were invited
for the aforesaid examination to be held on 17.07.2021, I find that
the petitioner is justified in urging that nothing was ever brought
to her notice that in case she wanted to appear in the examination
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wearing a kara, she had to reach the examination centre at least
one hour before the reporting time. It is an admitted position that
the notification dated 19.07.2021, which was in fact based on the
decision dated 03.05.2018 of this Court, was issued only two days
after the conduct of the aforesaid examination. Mr. Arora is,
therefore, justified in contending that the respondents' plea that all
the candidates were aware that in case they wanted to wear a kara
or a kirpan, they had to report at the examination centre one hour
before the reporting time, is not borne out from the record. Once
there is nothing to show that any circular or notice to this effect
was issued by the respondent nos.3 & 4 at any point of time before
the conduct of the examination, the respondents could not have
denied permission to the petitioner from appearing in the
examination and that too when the examination was to commence
from 2 pm. It is thus evident that the respondents had enough time
to properly check her kara for any possible misuse, after the
petitioner reported at the examination centre at 1:28 pm.
7. In fact, during the course of hearing, it has been put to the learned
counsel for respondent nos. 3 & 4 as to why, prior to the conduct
of the examination on 17.07.2021, no such circular in consonance
with the decision of this Court dated 03.05.2018 was issued by the
said respondents informing the candidates that in case they wanted
to appear in the examination wearing a kara and/or kirpan, they
should reach the examination centre atleast one hour before the
reporting time. Unfortunately, she has no answer to the said query
and merely reiterates that in case the petitioner had reported well
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in time, she would have been permitted to appear in the
examination.
8. It is highly unfortunate that a specialised body like the DSSSB,
which is regularly conducting examinations for selection to
various posts in the public sectors in Delhi and in which
examinations, a large number of Sikh candidates regularly appear,
did not bother to take any timely action to inform the candidates
that if they were desirous of wearing a kara and/or kirpan, they
were required to reach the examination centre atleast one hour
before the reporting time. Moreover, once directions to this effect
had already been issued by this Court on 03.05.2018 in
W.P.(C)7550/2017, in a similar matter pertaining to the CBSE, it
was incumbent upon the DSSSB to take timely appropriate steps
in this regard.
9. The respondent nos. 3 & 4, having not taken any steps to inform
the prospective candidates about this requirement to reach the
examination centre atleast one hour before the reporting time and
having prevented the petitioner from appearing in the examination
till she removed her kara and permitted the sleeves of her dress to
be cut to half, have wrongly prevented the petitioner from
appearing in the examination wherein she had an opportunity of
being selected and appointed as PGT-Economics (Female). The
action of the respondent nos. 3 & 4 is therefore, clearly
unsustainable and is liable to be quashed.
10. Having said so, what next. Learned counsel for the petitioner has
vehemently contended that since one post for PGT-Economics
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(Female) was directed to be kept vacant by the interim order
issued by this Court, the petitioner should be appointed against
this vacant post. In my considered view, this plea of the petitioner
overlooks the fact that the examination in question was a
competitive examination, where she had to compete with other
candidates for selection to the post of PGT Economics (Female).
Merely because the respondent nos. 3 & 4 were at fault in not
permitting the petitioner to appear in the examination, the same,
however, cannot be a ground to permit the petitioner to be
appointed against the available vacant post.
11. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner has no objection to appear in the examination for the
said post subject to her being granted requisite age relaxation and
the examination being conducted in a time bound manner.
12. In the light of the aforesaid, Ms. Avnish Ahlawat prays for and is
granted time to obtain instructions regarding the timeframe within
which a fresh examination for the said post is likely to be held and
also as to whether a fresh requisition for filling up the said post
has been received from the concerned employer.
13. Before I conclude, I deem it appropriate to direct the DSSSB to
ensure that adequate notice regarding this additional requirement
for candidates desirous of wearing a kara and/or kirpan to reach
the examination centre one hour before the reporting time, be
given well in advance so that no undue hardship is caused to them
as caused to the petitioner in the present case. It is expected that
not only the DSSSB but all other recruiting agencies who conduct
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similar examinations will take appropriate steps in this regard well
before the conduct of the examinations.
14. At request, list on 02.08.2022.
(REKHA PALLI)
JUDGE
JULY 11, 2022
kk
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