- (1.) BY means of this writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the conditions E(vi) and I -7 of the advertisement dated 27.07.2013, as also the communication dated 01.07.2014 by which the candidature of the petitioner has been rejected on the ground that the requisite certificates were not filed by him along with the application form in the prescribed format.
(2.) AN advertisement was issued on 27.07.2013 in various newspapers inviting applications for recruitment of CWE PO/MT -III. A copy of the said advertisement and application format are annexed along with the writ petition. The relevant provisions, which have been challenged by the petitioner are quoted below: "E. INTERVIEW Candidates who have been shortlisted in the examination for CWE PO/MT -III will subsequently be called for an Interview to be conducted by the Participating Organisations. Interviews will be conducted at select centres. The centre, address of the venue, time and date of Interview will be informed to the shortlisted candidates in the call letter. Candidates are required to download their interview call letters from authorised IBPS website www ibps in. Please note that any request regarding change in date, centre etc. of interview will not be entertained. However the conducting agencies reserve the right to change the date/ venue/ time/ centre etc. of interview or hold supplementary process for particular date / session / venue / centre / set of candidates at its discretion, under unforeseen circumstances, if any. The total marks allotted for Interview are 100. The minimum qualifying marks in interview will not be less than 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PWD candidates). The weightage (ratio) of CWE (exam) and interview will be 80:20. The combined final scores of candidates shall be arrived at on the basis of scores obtained by the candidates in CWE PO/MT -III and Interview. A candidate should qualify both in the CWE and interview to be shortlisted for subsequent allotment process, details of which will be available subsequently on IBPS website. While appearing for the Interview, the candidate should produce valid prescribed documents given below. List of Documents to be produced at the time of interview(as applicable) The following documents in original and self attested photocopies in support of the candidate's eligibility and identity are to be invariably submitted at the time of interview failing which the candidate may not be permitted to appear for the interview (i) .............................. (ii) .............................. (iii) .............................. (iv) .............................. (v) .............................. (vi) Caste Certificate issued by competent authority in the prescribed format as stipulated by Government of India in case of SC / ST / OBC category candidates. In case of candidates belonging to OBC category, certificate should specifically contain a clause that the candidate does not belong to creamy layer section excluded from the benefits of reservation for Other Backward Classes in Civil post and services under Government of India. OBC caste certificate containing the Non -creamy layer clause should be issued during the period 01.04.2013 to 31.03.2014. Caste Name mentioned in certificate should tally letter by letter with Central Government list / notification. Candidates belonging to OBC category but coming under creamy layer are not entitled to OBC reservation. They should indicate their category as General in the online application form. I. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS (1) ...................... (2) Before applying for the post, the candidate should ensure that he/she fulfils the eligibility and other norms mentioned in this advertisement. Candidates are therefore to carefully read this advertisement and follow all the instructions given for submitting online application. (3) A Candidate's admission to the examination/ shortlisting for interview/ and subsequent processes is strictly provisional. The mere fact that the call letter(s)/ allotment has been issued to the candidate does not imply that his/ her candidature has been finally cleared by IBPS/ Participating Organisation. IBPS/ Participating Organisations would be free to reject any application, at any stage of the process, cancel the candidature of the candidate in case it is detected at any stage that a candidate does not fulfill the eligibility norms and/or that he/she has furnished any incorrect/ false information /certificate /documents or has suppressed any material fact(s). If any of these shortcomings is/are detected after appointment in a Participating Organisation, his/her services are liable to be summarily terminated. (4) Decision of IBPS/ Participating Organisations in all matters regarding eligibility of the candidate, the stages at which such scrutiny of eligibility is to be undertaken, qualifications and other eligibility norms, the documents to be produced for the purpose of the conduct of Examination, interview, verification etc. and any other matter relating to CWE PO/MT -III will be final and binding on the candidate. No correspondence or personal enquiries shall be entertained by the IBPS in this behalf. (5) ...................... (6) ...................... (7) Any resulting dispute arising out of this advertisement including the recruitment process shall be subject to the sole jurisdiction of the Courts situated at Mumbai." A bare perusal of the aforesaid condition leaves not doubt that a person seeking benefit of reservation was required to submit caste certificate issued by the competent authority in the prescribed format as stipulated by Government of India in case of S.C./ S.T./ O.B.C. category candidates. Moreover, the said certificates should have been issued during the period from 01.04.2013 to 31.03.2014 and should tally letter by letter with the Central Government list/ notification. We also find that the prescribed format, on which the caste certificate had to be submitted, was also annexed along with the application form and the same has also been filed along with the writ petition. The said prescribed formate is as under: " FORM OF CERTIFICATE TO BE PRODUCED BY OTHER BACKWARD CLASSES APPLYING FOR APPOINTMENT TO POSTS UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA This is to certify that Sri/Smt/Kum. ____________________________________________ Son/Daughter of Sri/Smt.__________________________________ of _________________________________ village/Town of ________________________________ District/Division in ___________________________ State belongs to ______________________________community which is recognized as a Backward Class under: [i] Resolution No.12011/68/93 -BCC[C], dated the 10th September, 1993, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part -I, Section -1 No.186, dated the 13th September 1993. [ii] Resolution No.12011/9/94 - BCC [C], dated the 19th October, 1994, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part -I, Section -1 No.163 dated the20th October 1994. [iii] Resolution No. 12011/7/95 -BCC [C], dated the 24th May 1995, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part -I, Section -I No.88, dated the 25th May 1995. [iv] Resolution No.12011 / 96 / 94 - BCC, dated 9th March 1996. [v] Resolution No.12011/44/96 - BCC[C], dated the 6th December 1996, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part -I, Section -1 No.210, dated the 11th December 1996. [vi] Resolution No.12011 / 13 / 97 - BCC, dated 3rd December 1997. [vii] Resolution No.12011/99/94 -BCC, dated 11th December 1997. [viii] Resolution No.12011/68 /98 -BCC, dated 27th October 1999. [ix] Resolution No.12011/88/98 -BCC, dated 6th December 1999 published in the gazette of India. Extraordinary Part -I, Section -I, No.270, dated 6th December, 1999. [x] Resolution No.12011/36/99 -BCC, dated 4th April 2000, published in the Gazette of India. Extraordinary Part -I, Section -I, No.71, dated 4th April, 2000. [xi] Resolution No.12011/44/99 -BCC, dated 21 -9 -2000, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part -I, Section -I, No.210 dated 21 -9 -2000. Sri/Smt/Kum._______________________ and/or his/her family ordinarily reside[s] in the _______________ District/Division of the________________ State. This is also to certify that he/she does not belong to the persons /sections [Creamy Layer] mentioned in column 3 of the Schedule to the Government of India, Department of Personnel and Training OM No.36012/22/93 - Estt.[SCT], dated 8 -9 -1993, and modified vide Department of Personnel and training OM No. 36033/3/2004 Estt.(Res.) dated 9.3.2004 and 14.10.2008. Dated : District Magistrate or Seal : Deputy Commissioner, etc"
(3.) THE petitioner, who was well aware of the conditions of the advertisement applied for the post in question knowing fully well that she was required to submit caste certificate on the prescribed proforma issued by the District Magistrate concerned. Moreover, as per the conditions mentioned in the advertisement, a copy of which is contained in Annexure -3 to the writ petition, she was also aware that in the event, she did not submit the caste certificate on the prescribed format, her candidature was liable to be rejected. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that on the basis of the caste certificate submitted by him, which was admittedly not in the prescribed proforma, she was allowed to appear in the interview but during the course of the interview, she was given the proforma, on which the caste certificate could be submitted later. Based on the aforesaid, the further submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that once the petitioner having been allowed to appear in the interview, it is now not justified for the respondent to turn around and cancel the candidature of the petitioner on the ground that the caste certificate submitted by her was not as per the advertisement and the prescribed proforma. The learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance upon a decision of the Supreme Court rendered in the case of Shri Krishnan vs The Kurukshetra University, 1976 1 SCC 311, the relevant extract of the said judgment, which has been relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner is being quoted hereinbelow: "We find ourselves in complete agreement with the reasons given by the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the view of law taken by the learned Judges. In these circumstances, therefore, once the appellant was allowed to appear at the Examination in May, 1973, the respondent had no jurisdiction to cancel his candidature for that examination. This was not a case where on the undertaking given by a candidate for fulfilment of a specified condition a provisional admission was given by the University to appear at the examination which could be withdrawn at any moment on the non -fulfilment of the aforesaid condition. If this was the situation then the candidate himself would have contracted out the statute which was for his benefit and the statute therefore would not have stood in the way of the University authorities in cancelling the candidature of the appellant.";