TEJASWINI KHAJURIA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner applied for the Combined Defense Services Examination in the Short Service Commission Women (Non-Technical) course ["the course"?] pursuant to an advertisement dtd. 5/8/2020 issued by the Union Public Service Commission ["UPSC"?]. She assails a decision of the respondent Nos. 1 and 2, i.e. the Union of India and the Director General of Recruiting [collectively referred to as "the Union"?], dtd. 26/11/2021 by which her candidature for the said examination has been cancelled.

(2.) The notice issued by the UPSC covers selection to several different courses. It is not disputed that the course in question is covered under the category of admission to the Officers Training Academy, Chennai ["OTA"?]. The notice prescribed educational qualifications for such courses, which included a degree from a recognized university or equivalent. The candidates were required to submit proof of passing the degree examination at the time of commencement of the course, to reach the concerned authorities by 1/10/2021. The petitioner is currently pursuing the Bachelors of Dental Surgery ["BDS"?] course from the respondent No. 4-Himachal Pradesh University ["the University"?], which is the qualifying degree certificate she is required to submit.

(3.) The petitioner participated in the selection examination which was held on 24/8/2020, and secured the first rank for the course. In order to satisfy the eligibility conditions, she submitted a communication from the University dtd. 12/7/2021, which stated that she had passed her BDS fourth year examinations in January, 2021, and is currently undergoing 12 months of compulsory rotating paid internship. The internship commenced on 10/3/2021, and is likely to be completed on 9/3/2022. The petitioner recently came to know that joining letters dtd. 24/11/2021 have been issued to other candidates, and thereafter received a communication dtd. 26/11/2021 from the Union cancelling her candidature on the ground that she would not have completed her BDS degree until March, 2022. In this connection, the impugned communication draws reference to the BDS Course Regulations, 2007 issued by the respondent No. 3-Dental Council of India ["DCI"?] and amendments thereto. The present writ petition has been filed challenging this decision.