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Divya vs. Union of India & Ors.

Not available · 2023 INSC 900Decided 9 Oct 2023
Not available

Background

Divya and two other candidates (whose petitions were heard together) sat the Civil Services Examination 2022 seeking the benefit of EWS reservation. Government rules required candidates to already be in possession of an Income and Asset Certificate for financial year 2020-21, in a prescribed format, by 22 February 2022 (the application deadline), and to upload it in that form at the next stage. Divya only had an EWS certificate from an earlier year (2019-20) because, she said, COVID-19 lockdowns and the absence of a regular Tehsildar in her district prevented her from obtaining the correct financial-year certificate in time. She eventually got the 2020-21 certificate only well after the deadline, in mid-2023. The UPSC rejected her EWS claim for not meeting the certificate-format and cut-off-date requirements, and she and the other petitioners challenged this before the Supreme Court directly by writ petition, also questioning the legal validity of the Civil Services Examination Rules, 2022 themselves.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the relevant Office Memoranda (dated 19.01.2019 and 31.01.2019) together with Rules 13, 27(3) and 28 of the CSE-2022 Rules clearly required candidates to possess the correctly-dated Income and Asset Certificate by the application deadline, and that this cut-off date requirement was a valid and constitutionally permissible administrative rule, not an arbitrary technicality. Courts have long recognised that some cut-off date is necessary for orderly examination administration. The Court further held that the CSE-2022 Rules are not mere internal guidelines but have the force of enforceable law, being traceable to the All India Services Act, 1951 and connected rules and regulations under Article 73 of the Constitution. Since none of the petitioners held the required certificate in the proper format by the prescribed date, even though the delay for Divya was arguably due to circumstances like COVID-19 disruption and administrative unavailability of the certifying officer, the Court found the UPSC was justified in rejecting their EWS claims, and declined to use its special discretionary power under Article 142 to grant relief despite the hardship, noting that power must be exercised with great caution. All three writ petitions were dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

When a scheme sets a strict, rule-backed cut-off date for producing supporting documents (such as income/caste/category certificates for exam or job eligibility), courts will generally enforce that date even where a candidate has a sympathetic explanation for delay (like a pandemic or an unavailable local official), so applicants should apply as early as possible for any required certificate and not wait until close to the deadline.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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