SUNIL AMBWANI,J. - (1.) ON a reference dated 20.3.2002 made by the Division Bench in writ petition No. 20476 of 2001, Prashant Kumar Vs. State of U.P. and others, we have framed the following questions to be decided in the matter:- "At what stage the caste of a candidate should be entered in the Schedule-I of the U.P. Public Services (Reservation for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes) Act, 1994 for him to get benefit as an OBC candidate; Should it be before the notification/advertisement of the selections, or the written test, or the oral test (in case of oral test only), or the declaration of the result?"
(2.) ALL the petitioners and private respondents appeared in the Combined State Subordinate Civil Service Examination, 2000 held by U.P. Public Service Commission. The Advertisement No. A-1/E-1/2000 inviting applications for selections was published by the Commission on 7.1.2000. The last date of submission of the forms was 28.1.2000. It was extended to 8.2.2000. The preliminary written examination was taken on 28.5.2000. The main written examination was taken on 11.10.2000 and 17.10.2000. The interviews were held on 21.4.2001, and the final result was declared on 16.5.2001. In Writ Petition No. 6250 (M/B) of 2000 Pramod Kumar and another Vs. State of U.P. and others, the petitioners had claimed the benefit of the reservation as they belong to ''Jaat' community which was notified on 10.3.2000 as 'Other Backward Class' ( In short OBC) vide Notification amending the Schedule I appended to the U.P. Public Service (Reservation for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes & Other Backward Class) Act, 1994 (in short U.P. Act No. 4 of 1994). A Division Bench by its judgment dated 26.3.2001 dismissed the petition on the ground that the petitioners had appeared as general candidates. The recruitment process had started, when the notification amending the Schedule-I was published. The petitioners had participated in the selection as general candidate. Their status could not be altered during the process of selections, and that the process cannot be bifurcated by the Court.
(3.) IN Writ Petition No. 23193 of 2000, Km Amrita Singh and another Vs. State of U.P. and others, the same benefit of reservation as ''Jaat' as Other Backward Class vide Notification dated 10.3.2001 was claimed in the same examination. The Bench hearing the matter at Allahabad relied upon the provisions of Section 15 of U.P. Act No. 4 of 1994, and held that the process for selection shall be deemed to be initiated when the written test was taken. The preliminary written test was held on 28.5.2000, hence the petitioners were entitled to the benefit of reservation of 'Other Backward Class'. It was observed that if there are OBC candidates, who are more meritorious than the petitioner, then obviously the petitioners can be appointed only if such more meritorious candidates are absorbed and there are still some vacancies left in the reserved category of OBC.;