ATHIRA.S Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Two Original Petitions arise from a common order of the Tribunal and is with respect to the claim of the applicants to be included in a waiting list. The waiting list has to be prepared by calling 20% candidates over and above the number of vacancies, as was done in the earlier years. This is asserted to be in accordance with a Circular issued by the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The prayer is in the hope of inclusion in the waiting list, so as to be appointed in the non-joining vacancies of the original rank list.

(2.) In the earlier years admittedly there was a list prepared of candidates, from those called for document verification at 20% over and above the vacancies notified. Appointment orders were issued in accordance with the rank list and also following the roster of reservation, after which if there are any vacancies in which the candidates do not join, orders were issued for appointment of persons remaining in the list. There were a batch of cases filed seeking appointment to the general vacancies by persons who were not appointed, despite their document verification having been successfully completed. The Tribunal having declined the prayer, they were before this Court which Original Petitions [O.P.(CAT) Nos.67, 78 & 80 of 2015 dated 09.03.2016] were disposed of by Annexure A11 judgment produced in O.P (CAT) No.278 of 2019. There the applicants/petitioners were all reserved candidates of Other Backward Classes (OBC), who qualified by reason only of the relaxation of 10%, offered to the OBC candidates in the written test. It was categorically held that the reserved candidates who found a place in the list only because of the relaxation granted, could not aspire for consideration in the general vacancies even if they remained as non-joining vacancies. The aforesaid declaration of law is in tandem with the declaration of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Niravkumar Dilipbhai Makwana v. Gujarat Public Service Commission [(2019) 7 SCC 383]. However, the Division Bench by Annexure A11 directed the Railways to publish separate lists of the reserved candidates.

(3.) A subsequent litigation has now culminated in this Court directing the applicants in the OA, remaining in the waiting list, to be advised for appointment to the non-joining vacancies in the reserved posts of OBC, provided they come within the rank, equal to the number of vacancies. Here the applicants are persons from the general and reserved category who aspire to be included in the waiting list for appointment to the non-joining vacancies in both the general and reserved categories. Their aspirations were frustrated only due to change in policy of the Railways to call candidates for document verification equal to the number of vacancies notified.