PRODIP KUMAR MONDAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) VIDE order dated 21st May, 2009, the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as Tribunal) dismissed the Original Application No. 1433/2007 of the Petitioner. Aggrieved by this order, Petitioner has filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution praying therein that the impugned order of the Tribunal be set aside and O.A. be allowed.

(2.) FACTUAL matrix of the case, as emerges from the record, indicate that the Petitioner joined as a Direct Recruit Assistant in the Central Secretariat Service. Subsequently, he appeared in the Section Officer Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, 2003 (LDCE), conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), as per the Recruitment Rules, applicable to the post of Section Officer. As per the Rules, 50% of the vacancy in a recruitment year, were to be filled through the LDCE. In the said examination for the year 2003, UPSC declared 243 candidates as successful for the promotion to the post of Section Officer. Thereafter, the Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T), being the cadre controlling authority requested the UPSC to release the additional list of repeat candidates of unreserved category. Pursuant to this request, UPSC released an additional list of 3 unreserved candidates namely Mr. Jasbir Singh Negi, Mr. Ranjit Kumar Srivastava and Mr. Abhay Nandan Mishra.

(3.) AS against this, case of the Respondent was that the last unreserved candidate was placed at serial No. 210 which was later on brought down to the level of Mr. A.N. Mishra an unreserved repeat candidate. 12 candidates in SC/ST categories between the serial No. 210 and Mr. A.N. Mishra, were not entitled to unreserved vacancies as they had attained that position in the list on relaxed criteria. They did not fulfil the standard set in the written part of LDCE of 200 marks, duly approved by the UPSC for unreserved candidates. All the SC/ST candidates beyond serial No. 210 were placed in the list as per the relaxed standard, accordingly, SC candidates below the rank of 210 till Mr. A.N. Mishra could not have been adjusted against the unreserved vacancies. SC candidates had already availed the relaxed standard, as per the examination rules and were to be placed against reserved posts. Therefore, they cannot claim unreserved posts.