NUTAN INDWAR Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Full Bench has been constituted to answer the reference made by a Division Bench in L.P.A. No.64 of 2020 and other batch of cases vide order dtd. 2/3/2023.

(2.) The issue and the questions, which need to be answered, as framed by the learned Division Bench are as follows: -

(3.) For the purpose of answering the reference as referred to by the Division Bench, it is not necessary to traverse in detail all the facts of each individual cases. Suffice it would be to highlight that the petitioners/appellants herein had applied for various posts, against different advertisements published by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission or the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. In all these cases, petitioners/appellants are claiming benefits of reservation, since, they have been declared successful in the respective examination conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission or Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, as the case may be, and have secured more marks than the last selected candidates in their respective categories. It is the case of the petitioners/appellants that their caste certificates were not considered on the ground that (i) it was not in proper format; (ii) they were not in possession of the caste certificates in proper format as on the last date of submission of the application but they have produced the required caste certificate at the time of verification of documents. Their grievance further is (i) some of the candidates were permitted to appear in the interview in their caste category; and (ii) certificates of some of the candidates were accepted at the time of verification of documents; thus, there are procedural discrepancies, which were adopted, which also led to grievance of the petitioners/appellants. Challenging non- consideration of their case, petitioners-appellants approached the Court by filing writ petitions under Articles 226 of the Constitution of India.