Supreme Court bench upholding rules on reservation certificate timelines.
SUPREME COURT CLARIFIES RESERVATION ELIGIBILITY IN JUDICIAL RECRUITMENT PROCESS
| ASPECTS | DETAILS |
| Case Title | Sakshi Arha & Others vs. The Rajasthan High Court & Others |
| Introduction | This case pertains to candidates disqualified from the Civil Judge Examination 2021 due to submission of invalid category certificates past cut-off date. |
| Factual Background | Rajasthan High Court issued an advertisement (22.07.2021) for Civil Judge posts. Several reserved category candidates were later disqualified for not submitting valid certificates by 31.08.2021. |
| Legal Issues |
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| Applicable Law |
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| Analysis | The Court affirmed that eligibility is to be determined as per the rules and last date of application, regardless of silence in the advertisement. |
| Conclusion | The appeals were dismissed; the Court held that compliance with certificate validity rules is essential, and late certificates cannot confer eligibility. |
| Current Scenario | The Supreme Court judgment sets a clear precedent on eligibility timing in public recruitments involving reservation, reaffirming legal consistency. |
CASE SUMMARY – In this case,the Supreme Court dismissed multiple civil appeals related to the 2021 Rajasthan Civil Judge recruitment. Petitioners from reserved categories (OBC-NCL/MBC-NCL/EWS) were disqualified for failing to provide valid category certificates by the specified cut-off date. The Court ruled that despite the advertisement being silent on certificate validity, applicable rules and state circulars made it clear that certificates must be valid as of the application deadline (31.08.2021). The decision upheld the Rajasthan High Court’s ruling, emphasizing that ignorance of existing certificate validity norms cannot be an excuse. This case reinforces the legal clarity on procedural compliance for reservation benefits.
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse” — the Court reminds candidates of the significance of complying with applicable reservation certificate rules.
SOURCE – SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
