RACHANA DEEPAK PEDNEKAR Vs. STATE OF GOA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The four Writ Petitions before us involve a common question of law being, whether a Caste Certificate issued to a OBC (Other Backward Class) category candidate, in absence of a specific reference to its validity shall have a validity period and if the said period has expired when an application is preferred by a candidate, whether an appointment can be denied merely on that count.

(2.) For the sake of convenience, first we shall assimilate the facts placed before us in Writ Petition No.372 of 2024, a Petition filed by Smt Rachana D. Pednekar, the Petitioner belonging to Bhandari Naik community in Other Backward Class (OBC) category, being aggrieved by her non-selection to the post Technical Assistant, only on the ground that the Caste Certificate produced by her dtd. 30/7/2018 was valid only for a period of three years and the same having expired prior to the date of advertisement and application and, therefore, she cannot secure an appointment to the post, despite the fact that she cleared the exam and secured requisite marks, making her eligible on merit.

(3.) On 27/8/2021, an advertisement was published for filling up various vacancies in the Public Works Department and this included 31 posts of Technical Assistant (Computer/Electronics/Information Technology), of which 8 posts were reserved for OBC category. The Petitioner, possessing essential qualifications, applied for the post of Technical Assistant in OBC category, pursuant to the said advertisement and on 11/6/2023, she answered the examination conducted by the Department. On 8/11/2023, the marks secured by the candidates who appeared for the examination were displayed and the Petitioner secured 58 marks out of 100. The Department also uploaded the list of the shortlisted candidates for verification and the Petitioner found her name in the list of OBC category.