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Judgment
The present OA has been filed by the applicant seeking the following relief:-
“ a. the respondents to provisionally permit the applicant (Registration No. 259800425719/Roll No. 305307788) to undergo Document Verification and appear in the Interview for PRT scheduled on 24.10.2026 at PM Sri Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 31 D, Chandigarh (or any adjourned date), on similar terms and granted in OA No. 463/2026 (CAT Ernakulam) and WP (C ) No. 8304/2025 (Delhi High Court)
b. Further, without prejudice to prayers (a) this Hon’ble Tribunal be pleased to pass such other or further order (s) as this Hon’ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case.”
The applicant, Sumit Rathaur, is an OBC-NCL candidate belonging to the Teli community from the State of Uttar Pradesh. He applied under the OBC-NCL category for the post of Primary Teacher (PRT) advertised by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) via Recruitment Notification No. 01/2025 on behalf of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS). The registration window for this recruitment was open from 01.01.2025 to 04.12.2025. A hyper-technical condition stipulated in the notification mandated that candidates must possess an OBC-NCL certificate issued strictly within a narrow window between 01.01.2025 and 04.12.2025. The applicant successfully cleared the Tier-1 Written Examination held on 28.02.2026. Subsequently, he appeared for the Tier-2 Examination conducted between 27.03.2026 and 31.03.2026. On 14.09.2026, the respondents declared the results of the Tier-2 Examination, wherein the applicant successfully qualified. Following this success, the Respondent Board issued an Interview Letter on 24.09.2026, scheduling his document verification and interview for 24.10.2026 at PM Sri KV, Sector 31D, Chandigarh.
Regarding his caste documentation, the applicant holds an initial OBC-NCL certificate issued on 12.08.2023 by the Competent Authority (Tehsildar, Milak, District Rampur, UP) under Government of India norms, as well as an updated certificate obtained on 25.09.2026. Apprehending arbitrary disqualification during document verification due to the strict issuance-date cutoff condition in the notification, the applicant submitted a formal representation on 26.09.2026 to Respondent Nos. 1 to 4 requesting the acceptance of his certificate.
Issue notice. Mr. S Rajppa and Ms Sangita Singh, who appears on advance service accepts notice. Learned counsel for the respondents seeks four weeks’ time to file counter reply.
Learned counsel for the applicant places reliance on the interim order passed by the Ernakulam Bench of this Tribunal dated 18.09.2026 in Nijesh K. v. Department of School Education and Literacy (O.A. No. 463/2026) arising from the same recruitment notification, as well as judgments of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in AIIMS v. Girdhari Lal Jakhar and Raghvendra Singh & Anr. v. UPSC & Anr., alongside the authoritative ruling of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Ram Kumar Gijroya v. DSSSB, which collectively establish that the substantive benefits of reservation cannot be denied on mere technicalities concerning the timing of certificate issuance, given that social status is a pre-existing reality.
At this stage, learned counsel for the applicant states that the applicant will be fairly satisfied if the pending representation dated 26.09.2026 is decided by the respondents by passing a reasoned and speaking order within time bound manner.
Learned counsel for the respondents states that the respondents will have no objection if such order is passed.
In view of the above, the present OA is disposed of at the admission stage itself with the direction to the respondents to decide the aforementioned representation by passing a reasoned and speaking order within a week from the receipt of certified copy of the order.
We make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion regarding the merits.
OA is disposed of accordingly. All pending MAs stand disposed of, if any. No costs.