Delhi High Court: In a petition filed by the petitioner seeking quashing of the result dated 15-07-2022 to the extent that he has been declared failed in document verification examination by Respondent 2 and further seeking to set aside the cancellation of his candidature for recruitment in the Indian Coast Guard as Navik (GD), a division bench of Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan, JJ., directed the respondents to permit the petitioner to participate in Stage II of the advertisement that has been issued in August/ September 2022 as there was no deliberate intent on the part of the petitioner in uploading any incorrect document. However, the petitioner shall not be entitled to any seniority or other benefits.
Petitioner cleared Stage I, i.e., written examination, and progressed on to Stage II. In Stage II, he also cleared the physical fitness test. However, at the stage of document verification, he was disqualified, and his candidature was rejected. The reason given was that the application was with false information and did not match with information as per the documents uploaded in the application and was in contravention of the uploaded 10th Mark sheet in place of the Photo ID Proof.
The Court noted that the petitioner has not uploaded the wrong document for gaining an advantage or crossing the threshold of eligibility. The respondents themselves have applied the FAQ in the case of other individuals and granted them an opportunity to rectify the defect. Clearly, the petitioner has been discriminated against in respect of the grant of an opportunity to rectify the defect.
The Court further noted that the petitioner reported for Stage II and underwent the physical fitness test which the petitioner duly qualified. However, at the stage of document verification, it was discovered that he had uploaded the wrong document. Thereafter he was not given an opportunity to correct the mistake and provide the correct document as was given to other candidates.
The Court opined that it is not the case of the respondents that the petitioner is otherwise disqualified or is not the individual who has filled up the application form. The only error is instead of uploading the Aadhaar Card, he has uploaded the Class 10th certificate. In the application form, the petitioner has given correct details i.e., Aadhaar card number, date of birth, his name, and parent’s name, in which there is no discrepancy. Thus, the petitioner has not uploaded any incorrect document to gain any undue advantage or to mislead the respondents in any manner.
The Court directed the respondents to permit the petitioner to participate in Stage II of the advertisement that has been issued in August/ September 2022, and the petitioner shall not be entitled to any seniority or other benefits.
The Court further directed the respondents to constitute a Board for conducting the physical fitness test and the medical examination of the petitioner since the result of Stage II is in the process of being finalized.
[Neeraj Sharma v UOI, 2023 SCC OnLine Del 923, decided on 15-02-2023]
Judgment By: Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Mr. Amit Raghav with Ms.Seema Dolo, Advocates for the Petitioner;
Mr. Anurag Ahluwalia, CGSC with Mr. Kaushal Jeet Kait, GP & Mr. Jatin Yadav, Advocates for the Respondent.