OBC Certificate Issued In Delhi Cannot Be Based On Caste Certificate Issued By UP: Delhi HC Dismisses Plea For Quashing BSF Recruitment Results
The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition challenging the BSF Recruitment Results while holding that an OBC certificate must be independently issued by the State of Domicile and should not be based on a caste certificate issued by another State.
The petitioner had approached the Court to quash the final results concerning the selection of constables in the Border Security Force (BSF) which omitted his name from the OBC category.
The High Court remarked that since the petitioner had applied for a vacancy in Delhi, it was required of him to produce a certificate issued by the Authority in Delhi declaring his OBC status, without relying on a certificate from Uttar Pradesh.
A Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Saurabh Banerjee observed, “The advertisement contemplates that the caste certificate should be issued by the prescribed/ competent authority with authority of Government of India/ Resolution correctly mentioned on it, which justifies the claim of the candidate. But in the present case…the declaration of “District Magistrate, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi” in the subsequent paragraph of the certificate contemplates that it is issued on the basis of the OBC Certificate issued to the petitioner from Modi Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The same, thus, is only an affirmation that he belongs to "Yadav‟ community of Uttar Pradesh.”
L.C. Rajput represented the petitioner, while SPC Avnish Singh appeared for the respondents.
The BSF and Ministry of Home Affairs had published vacancies for recruitment of Constable (Tradesman) (Male and female) via examination for the year 2023.
The High Court had to determine whether the petitioner was rightly denied the appointment under the OBC category on the ground that the OBC certificate issued by the Authority in Delhi was on the basis of the OBC certificate issued from the State of Uttar Pradesh.
The Court held that “the Domicile certificate issued to the petitioner by the District Magistrate, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi in the case of the petitioner is not valid as the OBC Certificate necessarily has to be issued by the Authority i.e. District Magistrate at Modi Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh where the petitioner hails from and not on the basis of any other caste certificate issued by another Authority.”
The Court further explained that in the absence of a certification by a competent authority, the government was right in treating the candidature of the petitioner under the unreserved category.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the petition.
Cause Title: Harish Yadav v. Union of India & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:2065-DB)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocate L.C. Rajput
Respondents: SPC Avnish Singh; G.P. Kapil Dev Yadav; Advocates Vishal Kumar Yadav and Kanchan Kumari
