HC junks plea against provision of unlimited attempts for SC/ST candidates in civil services exam

The SC/ST is a distinct class identified by the Constitution hence, the reservation criteria prescribed for it cannot be termed arbitrary, the Bombay High Court has said refusing relief to a disabled civil services aspirant.

The high court on February 4 dismissed the petition filed by 38-year-old city resident Dharmendra Kumar, who had challenged the Civil Services Examination Rules allowing unlimited number of attempts for the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) category candidates.

Kumar has appeared for the civil services examination nine times unsuccessfully.

As per the rules, candidates from the Other Backward Class (OBC) category and Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) are allowed nine attempts at the examination. A candidate from the general open category is allowed only six attempts.

Kumar, who belongs to the OBC category, in his plea claimed the rules were discriminatory in nature.

A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Ashwin Bhobe in its February 4 judgement, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday, dismissed the petition, noting it failed to raise any valid ground of challenge.

The court noted that the SC/ST was a distinct class from the OBCs and hence different criteria are prescribed for them, and such criteria cannot be termed as arbitrary.

The SC/ST itself is a class which has a definite connotation in the Constitution and is distinct from the OBC, which has received recognition under the Constitution, the high court said.

“By no stretch of imagination, can a person belonging to the OBC category compare himself with a person from the SC/ST category, as the two classes stand apart in the Constitution for the purposes of reservation,” the bench said.

The Civil Services Examination Rules also continue with this distinction when it offers unlimited attempts for a SC/ST candidate, whereas an OBC candidate and persons with benchmark disability are entitled to nine attempts, the high court said.

The court said PwBD was a distinct class by itself, though it may include candidates belonging to the general category, SC/ST and OBCs, but since it is a horizontal reservation, it would cut across the vertical reservation.

“Therefore, in a person with benchmark disability category, if a candidate belongs to the SC/ST category then he or she shall stand on a different footing than a candidate belonging to any other category,” the high court said.

The petitioner’s contention, that PwBD should be treated as a separate class and therefore irrespective of whether he or she is SC/ST or OBC they must be entitled to equal number of attempts as a candidate from the SC/ST class, cannot be accepted, the high court said.