HARI SINGH Vs. STAFF SELECTION COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to seek the issuance of a writ of mandamus, thereby directing respondent No. 1 i.e. the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) to recommend the name of the petitioner for appointment to one of the Central Police Organisations i.e. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) or the Border Security Force (BSF) as per the preference exercised by him in his application submitted in response to public notice published, inter alia, in Employment News of 18-24.08.2007 to fill up posts of Sub Inspectors in various Central Police Organisations, and for a direction that respondent No. 2 i.e. the CRPF should appoint him as a Sub-Inspector.

(2.) The petitioner initially joined as R.II(Constable/GD) in the CRPF as an OBC category candidate at Group Centre, CRPF, Ajmer, Rajasthan on 2.8.1995 and was allotted Force No. 951222106. His service as R.II(Constable/GD) was confirmed after completion of training and probation w.e.f. 11.09.1997. He joined the services of the National Security Guard (NSG) on deputation w.e.f.15.03.2004 and is presently posted in 12 SRG, NSG Training Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana. He submits that while in service, in the year 2006 respondent No. 2 applied as a departmental candidate for appointment to the post of Sub-Inspector (SI/GD). He emphasizes that he applied as a candidate belonging to the OBC category and his candidature as an OBC candidate was entertained by respondent No. 2. However, it appears, he did not qualify in the said departmental examination.

(3.) The dispute in the present case has arisen as, even though the petitioner is undoubtedly an OBC candidate who does not fall within the creamy layer and is more meritorious than the last OBC candidate selected by SSC for the post of Sub-Inspector in the selection process in question, he has not been selected because the OBC certificate submitted by him was not in the prescribed format and he had not submitted the requisite OBC certificate. The respondents, therefore, treated the petitioner as a general category candidate and did not select him as he did not make the cut as a general category candidate.