Delhi High Court - Orders
Yajat Dev Prajapati, Minor, Through ... vs Union Of India & Anr on 21 September, 2021
Author: Prateek Jalan
Bench: Prateek Jalan
$~26 (2021 Cause List)
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 10600/2021 & CM APPL. 32699/2021
YAJAT DEV PRAJAPATI, MINOR, THROUGH
FATHER SATYA DEV PRAJAPATI ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. R. K. Saini, Advocate with
Mr. Ankit Singh, Advocate
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ANR. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Rishabh Sahu, Advocate for
R-1/UOI
Mr. Sanjay Khanna, Advocate for
R-2
Mr. Arjun Mitra, Advocate for R-3
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN
ORDER
% 21.09.2021 The proceedings in the matter have been conducted through hybrid mode [physical and virtual hearing].
1. The petitioner is a candidate for admission to engineering colleges. He took the JEE (Mains) Examination, 2021 ["JEE (Mains)"], conducted by the National Testing Agency ["NTA"], and has been placed in percentile 68.4133293 with an All India Rank of 302311.
2. The petitioner wishes to take the JEE (Advanced) Examination, 2021 ["JEE (Advanced)"] for which the cut-off in the General category is 87.8992241 and in the Other Backward Classes - Non Creamy Layer ["OBC-NCL"] category is 68.0234447.
3. Although the petitioner admittedly belongs to the OBC category, he registered for the JEE (Mains) in the General category under the Signature Not Verified Digitally signed By:SHITU NAGPAL Signing Date:21.09.2021 20:12:53 W.P.(C) 10600/2021 Page 1 of 6 misconception that he falls within the "creamy layer", as his father is a Group-A Officer. However, an Office Memorandum ["OM"] dated 14.10.2004 later came to his knowledge, which contains an exception from the creamy layer, applicable to the petitioner's case. The exception is reflected in paragraph 7 of the said OM, which is in the following terms:-
"7. In regard to clause (v) of para 4, it is clarified that the sons and daughters of parents of whom only the husband is a directly recruited Class II/Group B officer who gets into Class I/Group A at the age of 40 or earlier are treated to be in creamy layer. If the father is directly recruited Class III/Group C or Class IV /Group D employee and he gets into Class 1/Group A at the age of 40 or earlier, his sons and daughters shall not be treated to be falling in creamy layer."
[Emphasis supplied]
4. In the petitioner's case, his father was directly recruited to Class III/Group-C and thereafter was promoted as a Class-I/Group-A Officer before the age of 40. The aforementioned OM unfortunately came to the knowledge of the petitioner only after his registration had already been completed.
5. The petitioner thereafter applied for an OBC-NCL certificate from the concerned District Magistrate, which was issued on 09.09.2021. The District Magistrate has certified that the petitioner belongs to the OBC category notified by the Government of NCT of Delhi and does not belong to the persons or section identified in the relevant instructions of the Government of India as "creamy layer".
6. In these circumstances, the petitioner's father made a representation to the NTA on 13.09.2021, requesting a change in the Signature Not Verified Digitally signed By:SHITU NAGPAL Signing Date:21.09.2021 20:12:53 W.P.(C) 10600/2021 Page 2 of 6 category of the petitioner from General to OBC. A copy of the OBC certificate issued by the District Magistrate and the OM dated 14.10.2004 were also attached with the communication.
7. The JEE (Mains) result was declared on 15.09.2021. As noted above, the petitioner did not qualify for the JEE (Advanced) in the General category. However, if his candidature is accepted in the OBC- NCL category, the petitioner falls above the cut-off. It is in these circumstances that he has approached the Court for the following reliefs:-
"a) A Writ of Certiorari calling for the records of the case and peruse the same;
b) A Writ of Certiorari quashing the action of the Respondents in not allowing the Petitioner to register himself for JEE (Advanced) 2021 Examination, despite peculiar facts and circumstances, and the fact that the petitioner belongs to OBC Category, being illegal, arbitrary, discriminatory, unjust and in violation of the principles of equity, justice and good conscience and Article 41 of the Constitution of India.
c) Consequently, a writ of mandamus, directing the Respondents to treat the Petitioner as an OBC category candidate for the purpose of registration for JEE (Advanced) 2021, for all intents and purposes;
d) A Writ of Mandamus commanding the Respondents to pay the costs of this petition to the Petitioner;
e) Any other Writ order or direction, which may be deemed fit and proper on the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice."
8. As far as the JEE (Advanced) is concerned, the Information Brochure for the examination makes it clear that the category in which the candidate would be placed is dependent upon the database which is made available by the authority which conducts the JEE (Mains) Examination to the JEE (Advanced) Organising Committee. Mr. Arjun Signature Not Verified Digitally signed By:SHITU NAGPAL Signing Date:21.09.2021 20:12:53 W.P.(C) 10600/2021 Page 3 of 6 Mitra, learned counsel for the JEE (Advanced) Organising Committee confirms that, if the petitioner is treated by the JEE Apex Board as an OBC-NCL category candidate, he would be eligible to take the JEE (Advanced) on the basis of the category furnished by the said Board.
9. The Information Brochure for the JEE (Mains) contains a detailed timeline for the submission of applications and the dates of the examination. The JEE (Mains) was held in four sessions. Mr. Sanjay Khanna, learned counsel for the NTA states that public notices were issued from time to time with regard to the window for correction in the particulars, separately for each session of the Examination. However, in the Information Bulletin for the JEE (Mains), the following condition was prescribed:-
"The NTA does not guarantee any change in the category or sub-category (PwD status) after the submission of the Online Application Form, and in any case, no change will be entertained by NTA after the declaration of JEE (Main) NTA Score 2021. The category/subcategory (PwD status) entered in the JEE (Main) Database by the candidate will be used for the JEE (Advanced). Therefore, the candidates are advised to fill in the category/subcategory column very carefully."
[Emphasis supplied]
10. It appears from the above that the NTA, while not guaranteeing any change in the category after the submission of application form, was open to entertaining applications for change until the declaration of the JEE (Mains) score. The petitioner's application sent on 13.09.2021 was prior to the declaration of the JEE (Mains) score. As noted above, the petitioner's predicament arises from a situation where his parents were Signature Not Verified Digitally signed By:SHITU NAGPAL Signing Date:21.09.2021 20:12:53 W.P.(C) 10600/2021 Page 4 of 6 under the impression that he was not eligible for the reservation due to the "creamy layer" exception. The beneficial provision which enabled the petitioner to avail of the exception was contained in the OM dated 14.10.2004, which was not within his parents' knowledge. The OM came to their knowledge within the time contemplated by the JEE (Mains) Brochure.
11. In these peculiar circumstances, the petitioner's case ought to have been considered by the NTA. The petitioner has placed on record the certificate issued by the District Magistrate. The interest of justice require the petitioner to be granted the beneficial provision of the said OM, rather than being denied the opportunity to participate in the JEE (Advanced) examination. Naturally, he would still have to qualify on his own merit to be given admission pursuant thereto. The situation pointed out by the petitioner appears to arise out of a bona fide misconception which the petitioner was able to correct prior to the JEE (Mains) result having been declared.
12. The petitioner has already submitted the OBC-NCL certificate to the NTA. It is stated by Mr. Khanna and Mr. Mitra that the verification of the OBC certificate is to be undertaken only at a later stage, i.e. if and when the petitioner gets admission to a particular institute. In this view of the matter, all that the petitioner requires now is for the NTA to modify the petitioner's particulars in the data sent to the JEE (Advanced) Organising Committee, to reflect that he is to be treated as an OBC-NCL category candidate, subject to verification as applicable to all other reserved category candidates.
Signature Not Verified Digitally signed By:SHITU NAGPAL Signing Date:21.09.2021 20:12:53 W.P.(C) 10600/2021 Page 5 of 613. The aforesaid factual position being undisputed, and the petitioner's representation having been made within the period contemplated in the Information Brochure for the JEE (Mains), the respondents are directed to treat the petitioner as an OBC-NCL category candidate. It may be mentioned that the requirement at the present stage is only for the petitioner to declare the category in which he belongs, and the submission of documents for the purposes of verification is required only by 02.10.2021, as per the notification dated 17.09.2021 issued by the NTA.
14. The JEE (Advanced) registration is open until 11:59 PM today. The respondents are directed to permit the petitioner to register in the OBC-NCL category, and the NTA will also make the necessary communication to the JEE (Advanced) Organising Committee. This order has been passed in the presence of learned counsel for the parties, who are requested to communicate the directions contained therein to the respective respondents. The Court Master is also directed to send an electronic copy of the order to the learned counsel for the parties.
15. The petition, alongwith pending application, is disposed of with these directions.
PRATEEK JALAN, J SEPTEMBER 21, 2021/'j' Signature Not Verified Digitally signed By:SHITU NAGPAL Signing Date:21.09.2021 20:12:53 W.P.(C) 10600/2021 Page 6 of 6