ANANT KUMAR RAO Vs. UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioner prays for issuance of the writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the Order passed on 23/7/2025 [hereinafter referred to as the 'Impugned Order'] by the Central Administrative Tribunal [hereinafter referred to as 'CAT'] whereby the Original Application preferred by the Petitioner came to be dismissed and the rejection of his candidature for the post of Prosecutor in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office [hereinafter referred to as 'SFIO'] was upheld.

(2.) To comprehend the issues involved in the present case, the relevant facts in brief are required to be noticed. Pursuant to Advertisement No. 18/2022 issued by the Union Public Service Commission [hereinafter referred to as 'UPSC'], inviting online recruitment applications [hereinafter referred to as 'ORA'], inter alia, for twelve posts of Prosecutor in the SFIO, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Petitioner applied for the aforesaid post. As per the Recruitment Notice, the following experience was required for applying to the post of Prosecutor:

(3.) The last date for submitting the online application was 13/10/2022, whereas 14/10/2022 was the last date for printing the completely submitted online application. The Petitioner submitted his application, disclosing that he holds a five-year integrated degree in law. Under the advertisement, candidates holding such an integrated law degree were required to possess two years' experience in handling litigation and court matters or administration of law in a government organisation, subject to the notes appended thereto. In the Online Recruitment Application (ORA), he disclosed experience in Willard Advisory Pvt. Ltd. for the period commencing from 1/3/2020 to 13/10/2022, i.e., up to the cut-off date of the application, claiming to have a total experience of 2 Years 7 Months 13 days. In the column of nature of duties performed, he disclosed as follows: