Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur
State Of Rajasthan vs Rekha Swami on 28 April, 2022
Bench: Sandeep Mehta, Vinod Kumar Bharwani
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
D.B. Spl. Appl. Writ No. 533/2020
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Secretary, Department
Of Medical And Health, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. Additional Director (Administration), Medical And Health
Services, Tilak Marg, Jaipur.
3. Chief Medical And Health Officer, Churu.
----Appellants
Versus
Rekha Swami D/o Shri Rajendra Swami W/o Shri Rampal, Aged
About 34 Years, Resident Of Ward No. 10, Kalri, Tehsil Rajgarh,
District Churu.
----Respondent
For Appellant(s) : Mr. K.S. Rajpurohit, AAG assisted by
Mr. Rajat Arora
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Vikas Bijarnia
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP MEHTA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VINOD KUMAR BHARWANI
Order
28/04/2022
The instant intra-court appeal has been preferred by the
State of Rajasthan for assailing the judgment dated 05.02.2020
passed by learned Single Bench of this Court whereby writ petition
No.1651/2020 preferred by the respondent-writ petitioner was
accepted and the State was directed to consider her candidature
in the OBC non-creamy layer for selection on the post of Female
Health Worker (ANM) pursuant to the recruitment notification
issued by the Medical & Health Department on 18.06.2018.
The admitted position as is evinced from the record is that
while filing the online application form, the respondent selected
(2 of 5) [SAW-533/2020]
her category as being OBC non-creamy layer. However, the caste
certificate dated 07.06.2019 which was filed along with her
application form depicted that she hailed from the OBC creamy
layer category.
Thus, after document verification, the respondent's name
was not reflected in the final select list upon which, she submitted
a complaint annexing therein another certificate dated 18.12.2019
wherein her category has shown to be OBC non-creamy layer. She
also relied upon a certificate dated 21.03.2013 issued by the
Tehsildar Chirawa affirming her status as OBC non-creamy layer.
The learned Single Bench accepted the contentions advanced on
behalf of the respondent-writ petitioner and relying on the
judgment rendered by Single Bench in the case of Rajesh Kumar
vs State of Rajasthan (S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.276/2020,
decided on 28.01.2020) issued a writ to treat the writ-petitioner
in OBC non-creamy layer and to consider her candidature
accordingly by final order dated 05.02.2022 which is assailed in
this intra-court appeal.
We have heard and considered the submissions advanced at
bar and have gone through the material available on record.
Shri K.S. Rajpurohit, AAG assisted by Shri Rajat Arora
Advocate urged that the impugned order is ex-facie illegal for the
reason that the respondent had herself filed caste certificate dated
07.06.2019 wherein, it was clearly depicted that she belonged to
the OBC creamy layer category.
The general condition No.13 of the advertisement which
reads as below, clearly indicates that the certificate of Backward
Category/More Backward Category must have been issued in the
(3 of 5) [SAW-533/2020]
previous one year from the last date of furnishing the application
form:-
"13- lkekU; funsZ"k %&
(i) vU; fiNM+k [email protected] fiNM+k oxZ (MBC) dk uohure izek.k i= vkosnu izLrqr djus
dh vafre frfFk ls 1 o'kZ iwoZ rd dh vof/k esa jktLFkku jkT; ds l{ke vf/kdkjh }kjk
fu/kkZfjr izi= esa tkjh fd;k gqvk gksuk pkfg,] ftlesa fØehys;[email protected]&fØehys;j dh
izfof'B Li'Vr vafdr gksuh pkfg,A bu oxkZsa ds fØehys;j vH;fFkZ;ksa dks vkj{k.k dk ykHk
ns; ugha gSA lkekftd U;k; ,oa vf/kdkfjrk foHkkx ds fn"kk funsZ"k la[;k F-11/SC,
ST, OBC, [email protected]@lk-U;k- ,oa vf/k- [email protected]@54159 fnukad [email protected]@15 ds
vuqlkj fØehys;j esa ugha gksus laca/kh izek.k i= ,d o'kZ ds fy;s ekU; gksxkA "
The respondent filed the certificates (i) dated 21.03.2013,
showing her status as OBC non-creamy layer (ii) dated
07.06.2019 showing her status as OBC creamy layer and (iii)
Dated 18.12.2019 showing her status as OBC non-creamy layer.
Evidently thus, the respondent-writ petitioner was not
entitled to be considered in the OBC non-creamy layer category
because corrected certificate dated 18.12.2019 which she filed
along with her complaint was not affirming her status for previous
one year with reference to the last date of submitting the online
application form. The older certificate which she submitted along
with the writ petition was issued on 21.03.2013. Thus, by no
stretch of imagination, could the appellant State consider the writ
petitioner to be an OBC non-creamy layer candidate.
The controversy at hand is squarely covered by Division
Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Kailash Ram vs
State of Rajasthan & Ors. (D.B. Special Appeal Writ
No.279/2020, decided on 04.09.2020) wherein, it was held as
below:-
(4 of 5) [SAW-533/2020]
"14. Indisputably, in the advertisement issued in pursuance
whereof the appellant applied for appointment to the post of
Nurse Gr.II, it was specifically mentioned that the candidates
applying in the category of Other Backward Class/More
Backward Class must produce the certificate issued by the
competent authority of the State of Rajasthan in the
prescribed form, within one year from the last date of
submission of the application form and thus, the certificate
dated 13.6.13 produced by the appellant for recruitment
process initiated vide advertisement dated 30.5.18 was not
valid. Merely because, the appellant had applied in OBC-
NCL Category, his candidature could not have been
considered in the said category in absence of the required
certificate. It is true that the respondents have considered
three years old certificate while preparing final merit list but
then, such consideration has been made only in cases where
the candidates have fulfilled the condition in this regard
incorporated in the relevant instructions. It is not the case of
the appellant that he had filed an affidavit as prescribed for
consideration of the certificate produced. Moreover, even
otherwise, the certificate produced by the appellant could not
have been considered because it was old beyond three years.
Keeping in view the unequivocal condition incorporated in the
advertisement, the appellant was knowing fully well that the
certificate produced by him for consideration of his
candidature in OBC-NCL Category is not valid but he did not
make any attempt to obtain the requisite certificate till the
publication of the final merit list by the respondents. In the
considered opinion of this Court, where the status of a
candidate belonging to OBC-NCL Category is decided on the
basis of financial/social status, the condition incorporated
regarding the certificate to be produced in support thereof
being not beyond the period of one year from the last date of
submission of the application form, cannot be said to be
arbitrary. Obviously, many candidates not having the valid
(5 of 5) [SAW-533/2020]
certificate might not have even applied for the recruitment to
the post and thus, merely because, the appellant has
approached this Court, no relaxation can be extended to
him."
Seen in light of the ratio of the above Division Bench
judgment and in view of the attending facts and circumstances of
the case at hand, the respondent was not entitled to be
considered in the OBC Non-Creamy Layer category in the featured
recruitment process and consequently, non-inclusion of her name
in the select list for this category is absolutely justified. The
impugned order dated 05.02.2020 does not stand to scrutiny,
hence, the same is reversed.
The instant writ appeal is allowed in these terms. Stay
application is also disposed of.
(VINOD KUMAR BHARWANI),J (SANDEEP MEHTA),J
74-Sudhir Asopa/-
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