Punjab & Haryana High Court Allows Sports Category Candidate To Appear In Exam During Pendency Of Dispute Over Sports Gradation Certificate

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed a candidate to participate in a recruitment process during the pendency of a dispute regarding the submission of a Sports Gradation Certificate.

Justice Namit Kumar was hearing a writ petition filed by a candidate who had applied under the Sports Person category in a recruitment process conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission. The petitioner contended that although he possessed the requisite Sports Gradation Certificate, he could not upload or submit the same within the stipulated time due to the absence of a provision on the portal, lack of individual communication, and his understanding based on the advertisement that document verification would take place after the mains examination.

The petitioner relied on Clause 5.2 of the advertisement, which provided that scrutiny of application forms and verification of documents would be undertaken after the mains examination, and that candidature would remain provisional until such verification. It was submitted that despite being issued a roll number and permitted to appear in the preliminary examination under the sports category, subsequent public notices required submission of the Sports Gradation Certificate at an earlier stage, leading to rejection of his candidature in that category.

Considering the facts, the High Court permitted the petitioner to appear in the mains examination under the Sports Category provisionally, subject to the final outcome of the writ petition. It further directed that the result of the petitioner shall not be declared and shall be kept in a sealed cover until further orders.

The matter was adjourned to 16.05.2026.

Case Title: Parthesh Sharma v. Punjab Public Service Commission and Anr. [CWP-7566-2026]

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