The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) cannot mandate candidates to submit a fresh Backward Class (BC) certificate at the second stage of selection if they had already filed a valid certificate during the Common Eligibility Test (CET).
Key Observations by the Court:
1. Cut-off Date for Documents:
• Justice Jagmohan Bansal clarified that in the absence of a specified date in the rules or recruitment advertisement, the last date for submitting the application for the advertised post serves as the cut-off date.
• In this case, the cut-off date for uploading documents was the last date notified for application submission and had no bearing on the date of issuance of the BC certificate.
2. Validity of BC Certificates Filed During CET:
• The Court ruled that BC certificates submitted during the CET stage are valid for all intents and purposes throughout the selection process.
• It was held that HSSC could not demand a fresh BC certificate at the second stage.
• Given the overlapping of three financial years, the BC certificates already submitted during CET remain valid.
3. Candidates Cannot Be Shifted to General Category:
• The Court made it clear that no candidate can be transposed from the BC category to the General category for failing to submit a fresh BC certificate at the second stage.
Background of the Case:
• The matter arose from a batch of petitions filed by candidates applying for police constable recruitment in Haryana.
• The petitioners had applied for 5,000 male constable posts and 1,000 female constable posts (General Duty) under HSSC’s 2024 recruitment drive.
• Initially, they submitted valid BC certificates linked to the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) system.
• However, HSSC later imposed a new requirement—only BC certificates issued after April 1, 2023, would be considered.
• Many candidates were unaware of this change, leading to their disqualification or forced transposition to the General category.
Court’s Findings and Rationale:
• The recruitment advertisement did not specify a cut-off date for BC certificate submission.
• The candidates argued that caste status is permanent, unlike financial status, which affects the creamy layer criteria.
• The Court noted that over a thousand candidates had challenged the HSSC’s decision, indicating a serious miscommunication rather than an individual error.
• The Court emphasized that meritorious candidates should not be disqualified due to a misunderstanding, as this would compromise public interest.
Court’s Final Directions:
• The notification setting April 1, 2023, as the cut-off date for BC certificates was quashed.
• The Court rejected the petitioners’ request for completely unrestricted submission of BC certificates, stating that HSSC could clarify recruitment conditions but not arbitrarily alter them post-application.
This ruling reinforces the principle that selection criteria must be transparent, fair, and consistently applied throughout the recruitment process, ensuring that eligible candidates are not unfairly disqualified due to arbitrary administrative changes.
Case Title: Naveen & Others v. State of Haryana & Others
