The Delhi High Court on Friday observed that the Delhi Government (GNCTD) has created "utter chaos" in the implementation of OBC reservation by issuing multiple notifications, circulars and letters with ambiguous wording.

A Division Bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla remarked,

"We are constrained to observe, with some sense of dismay, that the GNCTD has, at least in the case of OBC reservations, created utter chaos, by issuing one Notification/Circular/Letter after another, and wording the advertisements delightfully ambiguously, resulting in not only the candidates, but even the Court never being certain of whether a case of entitlement is, or is not, made out."

The Court further remarked that recruitment advertisements should clearly specify the applicable eligibility criteria instead of referring generally to instructions and circulars issued "from time to time."

It added that candidates cannot be expected to "scour the internet" to locate every circular and notification governing reservation benefits, describing such an approach as “unfair” and “legally unsustainable”.

The remarks were made while dealing with a writ petition filed by a candidate challenging the rejection of his candidature for the post of Special Educator under an advertisement issued by the Directorate of Education.

Petitioner, who had applied under the OBC category, contended that he was entitled to reservation as his caste was included in the Central List of OBCs for Delhi.

However, the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) rejected his candidature after finding that his OBC certificate had been issued on the basis of an earlier certificate issued by the Bihar Bhawan to his father, and not on the basis of a certificate issued by GNCTD as required under the recruitment advertisement.

The High Court held that while the Petitioner's caste satisfied the eligibility requirement, the OBC certificate itself failed to meet the specific conditions contained in Clause 5(iv) of the recruitment advertisement.

Explaining the distinction, the Bench held that the notifications relied upon by the Petitioner governed caste eligibility, whereas the advertisement separately prescribed the manner in which an acceptable OBC certificate had to be issued.

“Having applied pursuant to the said Advertisement, without challenging it, the petitioner cannot wish away its covenants,” it said.

As such, the Court dismissed the writ petition.

Appearance: Mr. Anuj Aggarwal, Mr. Nikhil Pawar, Ms. Tanya Rose, Ms. Kritika Matta, Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Mr. Shubham Bahl and Ms. Bhumica Kundra, Advs. for Petitioner; Mrs. Avnish Ahlawat, SC with Mr. Uday Singh Ahlawat, Mrs. Tania Ahlawat and Mr. Nitesh Kumar Singh, Advs. for Respondents

Case title: Shashi v. Delhi Subordinate Service Selection Board And Ors

Case no.: W.P.(C) 15195/2022

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