- In Om Roj v. Haryana Staff Selection Commission and Ors, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that in matters relating to the appointment to any office, the State has to first fix the general category seats from the merit list first and then allocate the reserved category seats as per the assigned quota.
- The Court further held that, even if a person is not found entitled to any reservation quota, he can still claim his right to be considered as a general category candidate as given under Article 16 of the Constitution of India.
- In this case, the petitioner belonged to the EWS category and applied for the post of Veterinary Livestock Development Assistant (VLDA) under the same category and appeared for the exam.
- According to the final result, the last selected candidate in general category scored 70 marks and the last selected candidate in the EWS category obtained 58 marks. Even though the petitioner scored 79 marks, he wasn't selected in either of the categories.
- Subsequently, the petitioner filed a Mandamus writ petition before the Hon'ble High Court to direct the respondent to consider his claim for appointment as VLDA against either the general category or the EWS category.
- The respondent State argued that the petitioner had applied under the EWS category and therefore, he could not be considered under the general category. Also, because his EWS certificate was found to be invalid, he could not be considered for selection in this category as well.
- On this, the Court observed that the most basic principle of reservation is that the general category seats are filled first from the merit list and then from the reserved category as per the quota assigned.
- Therefore, of a candidate under a reserved category scores higher marks than a candidate in the general category, he will have a right of selection and the appointment will be under the general category.
- The Hon'ble High Court further held that denying to consider a candidate under the general category om the ground that he is ineligible for the reserved category is against the right given under Article 16 of the Indian Constitution.
- Accordingly, the Ld. Court directed the authorities to consider the appointmemt of the petitioner in the general category.
"Loved reading this piece by Megha Nautiyal?
Join LAWyersClubIndia's network for daily News Updates, Judgment Summaries, Articles, Forum Threads, Online Law Courses, and MUCH MORE!!"
Join LAWyersClubIndia's network for daily News Updates, Judgment Summaries, Articles, Forum Threads, Online Law Courses, and MUCH MORE!!"
