Central Administrative Tribunal - Jammu
Faried Iqbal vs D/O Home Ut Of Jammu & Kashmir on 4 February, 2026
:: 1 :: TA 8959/2020
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
JAMMU BENCH, JAMMU (RESERVED)
Hearing through video conferencing
Transfer Application No. 8959/2020
Reserved on: - 16.10.2025
Pronounced on: - 04.02.2026
HON'BLE MR. RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. RAM MOHAN JOHRI, MEMBER (A)
Faried Iqbal, Age 22 years, S/o Mohd. Shokeen, R/o Village Uchhad,
Tehsil Mankote District Poonch.
...Applicant
(Advocate: - Mr. Ajaz Chowdhary)
Versus
1. THE STATE OF J&K THROUGH, Commissioner/Secretary to Govt.
Home Department, Civil Secretariat, Srinagar/Jammu.
2. THE STATE OF J&K THROUGH, Director General of Police,
Srinagar.
3. J&K POLICE RECRUITMENT BOARD, Through its chairman.
Police Headquarters, Gulshan Ground Jammu
...Respondents
(Advocate:- Mr. Rajesh Thapa, ld. A.A.G.)
Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp
office Jammu Jandk", Phone=
HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER=
317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@
gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0
:: 2 :: TA 8959/2020
ORDER
Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member
1. The SWP No.1636/2018 was transferred from the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.8959/2020 by the Registry of this Tribunal.
2. The present matter was filed before the Hon'ble High Court seeking following relief: -
a) Commanding the respondent No. 2 & 3 to select the petitioner to for the post of Constable in J&K Police (IR Bn./Armed/Executive) whose name has been displayed in the waiting list issued by the respondent No. 3.
b) Commanding the respondent No. 2 & 3 to select/appoint the petitioner for the post of Constable in J&K Police (IR Bn./Armed/Executive) under ST category instead of displaying in the waiting list under General category..
c) Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper under the present set of circumstances may also be granted in favour of the petitioner.
3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows: -
a) The present Transfer Application arises out of SWP No. 1636/2018, which was initially filed before the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu and, upon constitution Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 3 :: TA 8959/2020 of this Tribunal, stood transferred and registered as T.A. No. 8959/2020. The applicant seeks consideration and appointment to the post of Constable in J&K Police (IR Battalion/Armed/Executive) in District Cadre Poonch, asserting that despite belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST) category and possessing higher merit than several selected candidates under that category, he was wrongly treated as an Open Merit candidate and relegated to the waiting list.
b) The case of the applicant, in brief, is that pursuant to Advertisement Notice issued under endorsement No. Pers-A-
38/2016/59220-320 dated 08.10.2016 by the J&K Police Recruitment Board, vacancies for the post of Constable were notified for District Cadre Poonch. The applicant, who is a permanent resident of the then State of Jammu and Kashmir and a citizen of India, claims to have applied for the said post under the Scheduled Tribe category, being fully eligible and in possession of a valid ST category certificate as on the cut-off date prescribed in the advertisement.
Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 4 :: TA 8959/2020
c) It is pleaded that the applicant participated in the Physical Endurance Test, qualified the same, and thereafter appeared in the written examination, which he also successfully cleared.
According to the applicant, at the time of downloading the admit card for the Physical Endurance Test, he noticed that his category was reflected as Open Merit instead of Scheduled Tribe. The applicant asserts that this discrepancy was immediately brought to the notice of the officials of the Recruitment Board during the Physical Endurance Test, along with production of his category certificate, and he was assured that the error, which had occurred due to technical or typographical issues during online submission, would be corrected at the appropriate stage.
d) It is further stated that the applicant secured 64 marks in the written examination and his name appeared at Serial No. 7 in the waiting list under Open Merit category. According to the applicant, a perusal of the select list issued under the Scheduled Tribe category reveals that candidates securing marks lower than him, including candidates with 61 marks, were selected Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 5 :: TA 8959/2020 under the said category. The applicant contends that had his candidature been correctly considered under the Scheduled Tribe category, he would have been placed well within the zone of selection and would have figured at Serial No. 7 in the ST select list. It is pleaded that as many as 15 candidates under the ST category, who had secured fewer marks than the applicant, were selected, thereby rendering the action of the respondents arbitrary and discriminatory.
e) The grievance of the applicant is that despite repeatedly approaching the respondents and submitting representations requesting rectification of his category status, no corrective action was taken. Instead, his name was shown in the waiting list under Open Merit category, effectively denying him appointment, even though he belonged to a reserved category and had higher merit than several selected candidates. The applicant asserts that denial of selection on the ground of a technical error in the online application process, despite possession and production of a valid category certificate, is Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 6 :: TA 8959/2020 unjust, unreasonable, and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
f) In support of his claim, the applicant places reliance upon judgments of the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in Ragu Singh Jandla v. State of J&K and others and Surjeet Singh Bali v. State of J&K and others, contending that procedural or technical defects should not defeat substantive rights, particularly when the candidate is otherwise eligible and meritorious. On these premises, the applicant seeks directions to the respondents to consider and appoint him to the post of Constable under the Scheduled Tribe category in District Cadre Poonch.
4. The respondents have filed their reply statement wherein they have averred as follows: -
a) The respondents have contested the claim of the applicant by filing a detailed reply, raising both preliminary objections as well as submissions on merits. At the outset, it is contended that no legal, constitutional, or statutory right of the applicant has been infringed so as to warrant interference by this Tribunal. Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 7 :: TA 8959/2020 According to the respondents, the applicant has no vested or enforceable right to appointment merely on the basis of participation in the selection process and placement in a waiting list, and therefore, the Transfer Application is liable to be dismissed.
b) It is further pleaded that the applicant, having consciously participated in the entire recruitment process without raising any contemporaneous objection to the selection procedure or to the terms of the advertisement, is estopped from challenging the outcome of the selection after having remained unsuccessful.
The respondents submit that the applicant cannot approbate and reprobate by accepting the process when it suited him and questioning it only after failing to secure selection.
c) On merits, the respondents categorically deny the assertion of the applicant that he applied under the Scheduled Tribe category. It is stated that as per the official records of the Police Recruitment Board, the applicant submitted his online application form under the Open Merit category for District Cadre Poonch. His candidature, therefore, was processed Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 8 :: TA 8959/2020 strictly in accordance with the category declared by him in the online application form. The respondents assert that the Physical Endurance Test sheet and the admit card issued to the applicant clearly reflect his category as Open Merit, and no deviation or correction was ever made by the Recruitment Board at any stage.
d) The respondents further submit that as per the terms of the advertisement notice, candidates were specifically cautioned to carefully fill in the online application form and were informed in unequivocal terms that no correction would be permitted at any subsequent stage. It is pleaded that the Recruitment Board did not retain or verify original documents, including category certificates, during the Physical Endurance Test, and therefore, the applicant's assertion that his category certificate was produced and accepted at that stage is factually incorrect.
e) It is further stated that the applicant appeared in all stages of the recruitment process under the Open Merit category and secured 64 marks in the written examination. However, the cut-off merit for selection under Open Merit category in District Poonch was Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 9 :: TA 8959/2020 65 marks. Consequently, the applicant failed to secure selection on merit and was rightly placed in the waiting list under Open Merit category. According to the respondents, the applicant is now attempting to improve his position retrospectively by claiming Scheduled Tribe status, which is impermissible under the recruitment rules and settled principles of law.
f) The respondents also submit that the judgments relied upon by the applicant are distinguishable on facts and do not support his case, as the applicant never mentioned Scheduled Tribe category in his application form. It is reiterated that the posts earmarked for Scheduled Tribe category in District Cadre Poonch have already been filled in accordance with the rules and on the basis of the categories declared by the candidates themselves. Any interference at this stage, according to the respondents, would unsettle the completed selection process and adversely affect third-party rights.
g) On these grounds, the respondents maintain that the Transfer Application is devoid of merit, based on misrepresentation of facts, and deserves dismissal.
Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 10 :: TA 8959/2020
5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
6. The rival pleadings and material placed on record have been carefully considered. The core issue that arises for determination is whether the applicant, who admittedly participated in the recruitment process as an Open Merit candidate and failed to secure selection on account of falling short of the prescribed cut-off, can subsequently seek consideration under the Scheduled Tribe category by alleging a technical or clerical error in the online application process.
7. At the outset, it is not in dispute that the recruitment in question was conducted pursuant to Advertisement Notice dated 08.10.2016 issued by the J&K Police Recruitment Board, wherein candidates were required to submit their applications through online mode. The advertisement categorically stipulated that candidates must carefully fill in all particulars, including category, and further made it explicitly clear that no correction or modification would be permitted at any subsequent stage. This condition was binding on all applicants, including the present applicant, and constituted an essential term governing the selection process.
Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 11 :: TA 8959/2020
8. From the record, it is evident that the applicant's online application reflected his category as Open Merit. The admit card issued to him for the Physical Endurance Test also clearly mentioned his category as Open Merit. The official records, including the report furnished by the Police Recruitment Board, consistently show that the applicant's candidature was processed under the Open Merit category alone, strictly in accordance with the particulars furnished by him in the online application form. There is no contemporaneous documentary material on record to establish that the applicant sought correction of his category within the permissible framework or that any assurance was formally given by the Recruitment Board to effect such correction.
9. The plea of the applicant that he produced his Scheduled Tribe certificate during the Physical Endurance Test and that the respondents orally assured him of rectification cannot be accepted in the absence of any supporting material. The recruitment process, as conducted by the Police Recruitment Board, did not envisage retention or verification of category certificates at the Physical Endurance Test stage, and the entire process was driven by the data Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 12 :: TA 8959/2020 furnished in the online application. Allowing post-selection claims based on alleged oral assurances would render the recruitment process uncertain, subjective, and vulnerable to manipulation, which is impermissible in law.
10. It is also an admitted position that the applicant secured 64 marks in the written examination, whereas the cut-off merit under Open Merit category for District Poonch was 65 marks. Consequently, he did not qualify for selection on merit and was rightly placed in the waiting list. The mere fact that candidates under the Scheduled Tribe category were selected with lower marks does not advance the applicant's case, as reservation operates strictly within the category duly declared and applied for by a candidate. A candidate cannot be permitted to shift from one category to another after participating in the selection process and finding himself unsuccessful.
11. The law on this aspect is well settled. A candidate is bound by the particulars furnished in the application form and cannot, after having taken a calculated chance in the selection process, seek to alter the category to secure an advantage. Courts and Tribunals have consistently held that selection processes cannot be unsettled on the Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 13 :: TA 8959/2020 basis of belated claims or alleged technical mistakes, particularly where the recruitment rules and advertisement conditions expressly prohibit corrections at a later stage.
12. The judgments relied upon by the applicant do not come to his aid, as those cases were decided on their own peculiar facts and involved situations where category status was undisputed or where the authorities themselves had committed an apparent error despite correct disclosure by the candidate. In the present case, the applicant himself declared his category as Open Merit in the online application, and the respondents merely acted upon the information supplied by him. No arbitrariness, mala fides, or violation of constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India is made out.
13. It also deserves emphasis that the Scheduled Tribe category posts in District Poonch have already been filled up in accordance with the rules. Granting the relief sought by the applicant at this stage would necessarily disturb a concluded selection process and adversely affect third-party rights, which is impermissible in service jurisprudence. Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0 :: 14 :: TA 8959/2020
14. Viewed from any angle, the applicant has failed to establish any legal right to claim appointment under the Scheduled Tribe category or any infirmity in the action of the respondents warranting interference by this Tribunal. The Transfer Application is essentially an attempt to reopen the recruitment process after remaining unsuccessful, which cannot be permitted.
15. For the foregoing reasons, this Tribunal finds no merit in the Transfer Application. The action of the respondents in treating the applicant as an Open Merit candidate and denying him selection on account of insufficient merit is found to be lawful, justified, and in consonance with the terms of the advertisement and settled principles of service law.
16. Accordingly, Transfer Application No. 8959/2020 is dismissed.
There shall be no order as to costs.
(RAM MOHAN JOHRI) (RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA)
Administrative Member Judicial Member
/harshit/
Digitally signed by HARSHIT YADAV
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= HARSHIT YADAV f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=harshityadav999@ gmail.com, CN=HARSHIT YADAV Reason: I am the author of this document Location:
Date: 2026.02.05 16:48:58+05'30' Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.2.0