Delhi High Court - Orders
Union Of India And Ors vs Shri Aashish Gupta on 22 August, 2025
Author: Navin Chawla
Bench: Navin Chawla
$~21
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 12716/2025
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS .....Petitioners
Through: Mr.Ashish K. Dixit, CGSC,
Mr.Shivam Tiwari, Mr.Umar
Hashmi, Advs.
versus
SHRI AASHISH GUPTA .....Respondent
Through: Mr.Anil Hooda, Mr.Satendra
Singh Baghel, Advs.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE RENU BHATNAGAR
ORDER
% 22.08.2025 CM APPL. 51940/2025 (Exemption)
1. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions.
CM APPL. 51942/20252. This application seeks permission to file a lengthy synopsis and list of dates exceeding five pages.
3. Having considered the contents of the application, the same is allowed.
W.P.(C) 12716/2025 & CM APPL. 51941/2025
4. This petition has been filed by the petitioners, challenging the Order dated 27.01.2025 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as 'Tribunal') in O.A. No. 3460/2019, titled Aashish Gupta v. Union of India & Ors., allowing the said O.A. filed by the respondent herein with the following directions:
This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 26/08/2025 at 21:41:50 "4.2 In view of the same, the impugned order dated 24.09.2019 is quashed and set aside.
Accordingly, the respondents are directed to place the applicant in Delhi Zone within a period of 30 days from the receipt of a certified copy of this order and appropriate seniority list be prepared alongwith his batchmates and consequential benefits accordingly shall also flow within a period of 3 months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order."
5. To give a brief background of the facts in which the present petition arise, the respondent had participated in the Combined Graduate Level Examination-2012, which is national level examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission for recruitment to the Group B and Group C posts in various Ministries and Department of the Government of India. Having been successful in the said examination, he was allocated the Chandigarh Zone.
6. Aggrieved thereby, and seeking allocation to the Delhi Zone, he filed O.A. No.3299/2015, which was dismissed by the learned Tribunal vide Order dated 24.08.2015. The review petition against the said order was also dismissed by the learned Tribunal, vide Order dated 02.05.2016.
7. The respondent, being aggrieved, filed a writ petition, being W.P,(C) 6154/2016, before this Court, which also came to be dismissed by the Judgment dated 30.08.2016. The Special Leave Petition, being SLP (C) No. 3859/2017, there-against also came to be dismissed by the Supreme Court vide its Order dated 23.02.2017.
8. Thereafter, pursuant to challenge raised regarding the eligibility of certain other candidates in the said examination and the orders This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 26/08/2025 at 21:41:50 passed by the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal Nos.2836-2838/2017 and Review Petition Nos. 2417-2419/2019, the petitioners declared Additional Results for the CGLE-2012. The candidates now declared selected therein, were allocated the Delhi Zone.
9. Contending that certain persons junior in rank had been allocated Delhi Zone, the respondent, seeking similar relief, initiated yet another round of litigation by filing a Review Application No.183/2018 before the learned Tribunal, which came to be dismissed by the learned Tribunal vide Order dated 09.10.2018.
10. The respondent thereafter submitted a representation to the department and also filed O.A. No.1784/2019 before the learned Tribunal, which was disposed of vide Order dated 31.05.2019, with a direction to the petitioners to consider the said representation.
11. The representation was subsequently rejected by the Competent Authority vide Order dated 24.09.2019.
12. Aggrieved thereby, the respondent then filed the above O.A. No.3460/2019.
13. As noted hereinabove, the learned Tribunal has allowed the said O.A., holding that since candidates lower in merit than the respondent had been allocated to the Delhi Zone, the respondent was also entitled to be placed in the Delhi Zone.
14. Issue notice.
15. Notice is accepted by Mr.Anil Hooda, the learned counsel for the respondent. He submits that the Zone was to be allocated solely on the basis of the merit position in the result. Once the learned Tribunal found that the candidates placed below the respondent on merit, had This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 26/08/2025 at 21:41:50 been allocated to the Delhi Zone, no fault could be found with the directions issued by the learned Tribunal.
16. Prima facie, we are unable to accept the submission made by the learned counsel for the respondent.
17. In the present case, from the narration of facts noted above, it is evident that the respondent's initial challenge to his allocation to the Chandigarh Zone was rejected, and such rejection upheld right up to the Supreme Court. Merely because the petitioners were later directed to declare supplementary results pursuant to some other unconnected litigation, and certain candidates who were declared selected in the Additional Result were accordingly adjusted in the Delhi Zone, cannot give a fresh cause of action to the respondent to once again agitate an issue which already stands concluded up to the Supreme Court.
18. Accordingly, there shall be a stay on the execution of the Impugned Order, till further orders of this Court.
19. Let the counter affidavit be filed within a period of four weeks from today. Rejoinder thereto, if any, be filed within a period of three weeks thereafter.
20. List on 4th February, 2026.
NAVIN CHAWLA, J RENU BHATNAGAR, J AUGUST 22, 2025/Arya/DG This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 26/08/2025 at 21:41:50