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Judgment
Hon’ble Mr. Manish Garg, Member (J)
In the instant O.A., the applicant is seeking the following reliefs:
"i)To quash and set aside the impugned Annexure A-1 and direct the respondents to consider the applicant's claim for appointment to the post of Evaluator (Correspondence Courses) in Central Hindi Directorate, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education on the basis of his merit with all consequential benefits.
ii) To declare the action of respondents tn cancelling the candidature of applicant for appointment to the post of Evaluator (Correspondence Courses) in Central Hindi Directorate, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education as illegal and accordingly issue appropriate directions to the respondents to treat the applicant's candidature as valid and appoint him to the post of Evaluator (Correspondence Courses) in Central Hindi Directorate, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education with all consequential benefits including arrears of pay.
iii) To direct the respondents to include the name of applicant in the list of selected candidates (Annexure A-1A) and appoint him to the post of Evaluator (Correspondence Courses) in Central Hindi Directorate, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
iv) To declare the action of respondents in not accepting the MA marksheet as submitted on 30.72.2025 merely mentioning of 'Medium' as English in the marksheet as illegal and declare that the applicant submitted all the requisite documents as on 30.12.2025 and appoint him to the post of Evaluator (Correspondence Courses) tn Central Hindi Directorate, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
v)To allow the OA with cost.
vi) Any other orders may also be passed as this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper in the existing facts and circumstances of the case."
Learned counsel for the applicant also presses for urgent interim relief in terms of para 9 of the O.A., which reads as under:
"Pending final adjudication of the OA, it is humbly prayed that the Hon'ble Tribunal may be pleased to direct the respondents to keep 01 post of Evaluator (Correspondence Courses) in Central Hindi Directorate, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education as vacant. In case/ the interim relief as prayed is not granted, the applicant would suffer irreparable loss."
Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the present O.A. has been preferred challenging the arbitrary action of the respondents in cancelling the applicant's candidature on the ground that he had allegedly failed to submit the corrected M.A. (Hindi) degree by the stipulated date, i.e., 24.06.2026. It is contended that there was, in fact, no defect in the applicant's M.A. (Hindi) degree, which had already been duly submitted on 30.12.2025. The only discrepancy was an inadvertent error in the M.A. marksheet issued by the concerned University, which required correction. According to the learned counsel, as per the undertaking furnished by the applicant, the corrected marksheet was only required to be submitted before joining service.
Learned counsel further submits that the error was confined only to the marksheet and not to the degree itself, contrary to what has been recorded in the remarks forming the basis of rejection of the applicant's candidature. It is submitted that this position is evident from the documents placed on record.
Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the concerned University has already corrected the inadvertent error in the marksheet and the corrected marksheet has been placed on record at page 218 of the O.A. It is contended that despite the availability of the corrected document, the respondents proceeded to pass the impugned order without taking the same into consideration.
Pleadings in the O.A. are complete. Therefore, with the consent of learned counsels for the parties, the O.A. is taken up for hearing.
Learned counsel for the respondents by referring to the contentions made in the counter reply submits that during the process of document verification it was noticed that marklist of the Master’s degree in Hindi has been done through English medium, hence, it was doubted how could one possess M.A. in Hindi in English. It is not contested by the respondents that the degree was obtained by the applicant within the stipulated time, however, there was an error as elaborated above. He draws attention to page 217 of the O.A. where in the promotion certificate it has been recorded that the medium was Hindi.
He submits that the correction ought to have been made prior to the cutoff date. Learned counsel for the respondents goes on to argue that the applicant had given an undertaking dated 30.12.2025 regarding the submission of the rectified marksheet. It is seen that this undertaking has been received by some official, however, it has not been addressed to any authority.
It is imperative to note that the above argument cannot hold much water as either the respondents should rely on the undertaking or deny the receipt of the same.
Learned counsel for the respondents submits that despite the undertaking given by the applicant, he has failed to submit it within the stipulated time.
We have heard the learned counsels for the parties and with their assistance we have also perused the pleadings available on record.
We are of the considered that there is no doubt about the fact that the applicant was having the degree M.A.(Hindi) as per the prescribed and an error had crept in in the marksheet which is apparent from the records. It is also noticed that corrective steps have been taken by the applicant to produce the correct marksheet (reproduced below).
After careful consideration of the marksheet, it is seen that the result was declared on 03.12.2021, which is much before the cutoff date, however, the corrected marksheet was issued on 01.01.2026. The respondents could have verified the above for determining the claim of the applicant from the competent authority. As a matter of fact, the degree of the applicant is not disputed (Page 216 of the O.A.). The rejection order is based on the premise that there is an error in the degree. We have seen that there is no error apparent in the degree of the applicant as annexed with the O.A. The error in the marksheet cannot be a sole ground to reject the claim of the applicant, once the same has been rectified.
In view of the above, the O.A. is allowed with the following directions:-
The impugned order annexed as Annexure A1 is quashed and set aside.
The respondents are directed to accept the candidature of the applicant and issue him an offer of appointment on his meeting all the other requirements within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.
The applicant shall be entitled to all consequential benefits on notional basis.
Pending M.A. stands disposed of accordingly.
There shall be no order as to costs.