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Judgment
BY HON’BLE MR. MANISH GARG, MEMBER (J):
In the instant OA, applicant seeks the following reliefs:
“a)Direct the Respondent to treat the Applicant as a candidate belonging to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category for the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor (Delhi) advertised on 10.09.2026 (Advertisement No. 11/2026), and to permit the change of her category from General to EWS in her application bearing Registration/Application No. 12699242836 and URN No. 252639959897, on the strength of the EWS certificate issued in her favour; and to consider her candidature in the EWS category at all stages of the selection process, in accordance with the rules and the Advertisement.
b)In the alternative direct the Respondent/UPSC to manually update the category of the Applicant from General to EWS in her existing application, or, to accept a fresh application from her under the EWS category, forthwith and in any event before the expiry of the last date of 02.10.2026, or within such extended time as this Hon'ble Tribunal may direct:
c)Direct the Respondent/UPSC, if necessary for giving effect to the above, to keep the online portal open for the limited purpose of the Applicant's application, or to accept her application and supporting EWS certificate in such manner (including by email or in physical form) as may be feasible, and to treat the same as having been received within time;
d)Direct that the result of the selection, insofar as it pertains to the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor, shall not be finalized in a manner prejudicial to the claim of the Applicant without leave of this Hon'ble Tribunal.
e)Issue any other appropriate order or direction, which this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper as per the facts and circumstances of the case.”
The facts of the case are that the applicant completed her LL.B. (Three-Year Course) from Law Centre-II, University of Delhi, Delhi, and is enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi vide Enrolment No. D/11698/2022 dated 01.12.2022. The applicant is also a registered member of the Delhi Bar Association, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi, vide Membership Registration No. P-2482 and has been in continuous practice for more than three years since 01.12.2022.
It is stated that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) advertised one hundred forty (140) vacancies [UR-50, EWS-14, OBC-37, SC-30, ST-09 (PwBD-08*)] for the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor in the Directorate of Prosecution, Home Department, Government of NCT of Delhi, vide Advertisement No. 11/2026 at Serial No. 6 and Vacancy No. 26091106212. The applicant applied under the Unreserved category for the said post through the UPSC recruitment portal under Universal Registration Application No. 252639959897 and Application No. 12699242836. The applicant received an intimation and oral assurance from the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Vishwas Nagar, Shahdara, regarding issuance of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) Certificate. The applicant, therefore, sought to claim the benefit of EWS reservation. The applicant submitted a representation to the respondent-Commission through the designated e-mail ID and also visited the office personally, requesting that her candidature be considered under the EWS category. However, no reply has been received till date.
It is further submitted that the applicant tried to edit or re-file her application form through the same Universal Registration Number, but was not permitted to edit or re-file the application. The applicant also tried to create a fresh registration, which was likewise not permitted. The aforesaid chronological events show that despite fulfilling the requisite educational and experience criteria and despite having the EWS Certificate before the closing date, i.e., 02.10.2026 at 18:00 hrs, the applicant has not been able to claim the benefit of EWS reservation available to her. The applicant contends that the action of the respondent/UPSC is arbitrary, illegal and discriminatory and has caused prejudice to her. Hence, the present application has been filed under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.
The applicant submits that she submitted a representation to the respondents on 30.09.2026, praying, inter alia, that an appropriate direction be issued to the respondent to consider and decide the said representation.
In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the OA is disposed of with a direction to the respondents to consider and decide the representation of the applicant dated 30.09.2026, in accordance with law, within one month from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, by passing a reasoned and speaking order. The respondents shall consider the grievance of the applicant in a holistic manner and, if deemed appropriate, permit her to submit an online/offline application for change of category. No separate window has been prescribed for this purpose.
Pending MAs, if any, shall also stand disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs.