Offer appointment letters to Jat candidates: Tribunal to Admn

Once statutory rules framed by the Government of India have been made applicable to the UT of Chandigarh, the Director General of Police is not competent to bypass such rules by clarifying definition of OBC and referring to policy of 2015.

Observing this, the Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the UT Administration to offer appointment letters to eight applicants, who had qualified the exam for the post of constables, but were denied appointment on the ground that the Jat caste is not included in the list of OBC category issued by the UT.

In an application filed through advocate Rishav Sharma before the tribunal, eight applicants said they belonged to the Jat caste, which had been specified as ‘Other Backward Caste’ (OBC) in the list of OBC castes specified by the Central Government from time to time.

The Administration had issued advertisement on May 20, 2023, inviting applications for filling 700 post of Constables (Executive). Of the total posts, 185 were reserved for OBC candidates, including 104 posts for OBC male candidates. The Chandigarh DGP issued a Standing Order, which prescribed the details of eligibility criteria, selection process and other details governing the recruitment process.

In the order, it had been clarified that the “OBC” means the castes specified in the State List of OBCs issued by the Chandigarh Administration, Department of Social Welfare, as on the last date of submission of the application form.

Being eligible and having valid OBC certificate issued by the competent authority, the applicants applied online for the recruitment exam under the quota.

After qualifying the written exam when they appeared for document verification on specified dates, their candidature was rejected orally by the respondents by relying on the public notice that the Jat caste is not included in the list of OBC category issued by the UT Chandigarh, therefore, they are not eligible for appointment under the OBC quota. However, the said caste has been included in the Central list of OBCs and Chandigarh has now been governed by the Central rules in pursuance of the notification dated March 29, 2022.

On the other hand, the respondents justified their decision. After hearing of the arguments, the tribunal said once statutory rules framed by the Government of India had been made applicable to UT of Chandigarh, respondent No 3 (Director General of Police, UT) is not competent to bypass such rules by clarifying definition of OBC and referring to policy of 2015.

In view of the above, the application is allowed and the public notice is quashed, the tribunal added. It directed the respondents to consider case of the applicants for the purpose of reservation as per discussion herein above and if found eligible, offer appointment within two months from receipt of a copy of the order.