The High Court
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK WP(C) No.26323 of 2025 1. Lambodar Nayak 2. Bansidhar Nayak 3. Jharana Behera 4. Ritanjali Pati 5. Sulochana Mohapatra 6. Brahmananda Nayak 7. Chittaranjan Pradhan 8. Shuvrajit Mallick 9. Soudamini Nayak 10. Satyabrata Mallik …. Petitioners Mr. Karunakar Rath, Advocate -versus- 1. Union of India 2. Chief Post Master General, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 3. Superintendent of Post Offices, Jajpur Division, Jajpur …. Opp. Parties Mr. P.K. Parhi, D.S.G.I. along with Mr. S.K. Samantaray, , Central Govt. Counsel CORAM: THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE S.K. SAHOO THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SIBO SANKAR MISHRA ORDER 22.10.2025 is This matter taken up through Hybrid arrangement (video conferencing/physical mode). Page 1 of 9 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 Order No. 02. Heard. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioners challenging the order dated 04.02.2025 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack (hereinafter “Tribunal”) in O.A. No.435 of 2022. It appears that all the petitioners were the candidates for the post of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) of Odisha Circle for the year 2022. They filed the aforesaid O.A. seeking for quashing of the orders of cancellation of their candidature with a further prayer for direction to the opp. parties to give appointment to them against the post, they are being selected. The factual scenario as appears from the pleadings in the Original Application is that in pursuance to the notification issued by the opp. parties for the post of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) for the year 2022, the petitioners had applied online. While applying online, the petitioners had to mention the name of the Board from which they passed their 10th class/matriculation examination. Admittedly, the petitioners had passed their 10th class examination from Rural Institute of Open Schooling (RIOS) under Chhattisgarh State Open School Board, Govt. of Chhattisgarh. It is their case that since only 14 Board names were available in the online application options, therefore, the petitioners submitted their Page 2 of 9 Signature Not Verified
Legal Reasoning
Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 applications by choosing the Board name as Indian Certificate of Secondary Education with 6 subjects. It is further the case of the petitioners that they were selected on merit, against the GDS posts and notification in that respect was published on 17.06.2022 and was shortlisted for documents verification. During documents verification, when the petitioners produced the documents, their candidatures were rejected on the ground that the Board name did not tally with the uploaded information. It is further case of the petitioners that the second selection list was issued by the opp. parties ignoring their names and candidates who had secured less marks were selected against the post. After issuance of notice, the opp. parties filed the counter affidavit, wherein it is stated that the petitioners passed their 10th class from Rural Institute of Open Schooling (RIOS), but while applying for the post of GDS, they mentioned that they have passed out 10th class from Odisha Board instead of Chhattisgarh and the name of the Board was also given as Indian Certificate of Secondary Education instead of Rural Institute of Open Schooling. When the documents were produced by the petitioners, after verifying the same, the authority came to hold that “the selected Board name not tallied with uploaded certificate Board Page 3 of 9 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 name” and moreover, Rural Institute of Open Schooling (RIOS) was not recognized vide Postal Directorate letter dated 21.01.2022. It is further averred in the counter affidavit that the petitioners instead of disclosing that they passed their 10th class from Chhattisgarh filled it as Odisha. Candidates passed out from only 14 Board of Odisha State were qualified for selection. The petitioners filed their rejoinder affidavit, wherein it is stated that in the past, some of the candidates who have passed from Regional Institute of Open Schooling has been given appointments and therefore, the opp. parties should have considered their case. On bare perusal of the application forms, it would be evident that under the heading of ‘Declaration’, all the candidates had to give certain declarations. Particularly column 8 and 9 are very relevant for the purpose of adjudication of this case, which are extracted hereinbelow: “8. I undertake that I have studied notification document thoroughly and found myself eligible for the post of GDS/ABPM/DakSevak. 9. I hereby undertake to declare that, the details furnished by me (i.e. Age/Address/ Educational Page 4 of 9 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 qualifications/Computer knowledge/EWS/PwD/Caste etc.) on the basis of which I am applying for the posts of GDSBPM/ABPM/DakSevak are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. I also undertake that, in case, any detail submitted by me is found to be false at any state of engagement process/during engagement, my candidature shall be liable to be rejected against all the vacancies, applied for, or after my engagement, I shall be terminated under GDS (Conduct and Engagement) Rules. I also understood that I shall be liable for criminal/legal action for producing any of false details/documents etc.” Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 Learned counsel for the petitioners fairly submitted that the entry relating to the Board and the entry relating to the name of the State given by the petitioners while submitting the online applications were not correct, however, it is the
Legal Reasoning
submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners that since the petitioners have already been selected and in the past, students/candidates passing from Regional Institute of Open Schooling have been given engagement for the post, the petitioners case should Page 5 of 9 have been favourably considered and it should not have been rejected on this ground. On perusal of the notification for engagement of Gramin Daksevaks, the column no.5 deals with educational qualification, which reads as follows: “Educational Qualification Secondary School Examination pass certificate of 10th standard having passed in Mathematics and English (having been studied as compulsory or elective subjects) conducted by an recognized Board of School Education by the Government of India/State Governments/Union Territories in India shall be a mandatory educational qualification for all approved categories of GDS.” Learned Tribunal after considering the pleadings and submissions raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners came to hold that the plea of the petitioners that they submitted their online applications by choosing the Board randomly cannot be accepted since they have to be careful while filling in the application forms and cannot misrepresent facts as per their choice. The petitioners ought to have been vigilant while filling up their application forms, which they had failed to do so and therefore, no indulgence can be granted to them on any Page 6 of 9 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 sympathetic considerations. The learned Tribunal has also placed reliance in case of State of Tamil Nadu & others -Vrs.- Sf. Joseph Teachers Training Institute & another reported in (1991) 3 Supreme Court Cases 87, in which it has been held that “mere humanitarian grounds cannot form the basis for granting reliefs against the settled propositions of law, or contrary to law, and when an instruction or yardstick prescribed in the concerned advertisement has been applied uniformly in the case of all other candidates, the applicants cannot claim to be provided with a more favourable consideration than others have been provided.” It further appears that the learned Tribunal has been pleased to hold that as per the Corrigendum issued vide letter dated 04.07.2022, the certificates which were not available on the Digilocker of the candidates were to be verified manually through Board concerned by the Divisional Head and it is not the case of the petitioners that their candidatures were rejected on the ground that the certificates were not available in the “Digilocker” rather their candidature were rejected as they had given wrong information in their online applications which caused a mismatch while verifying the documents. Therefore, the corrigendum will not come to the aid of the petitioners. Page 7 of 9 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 The contentions of the learned counsel for the petitioners that in the year 2019 and 2020, some applicants who had passed from the Rural Institute of Open Schooling were given engagement was also turned down on the ground that the rejoinder does not indicate who are those persons passed from Rural Institute of Open Schooling and what those applicants had filled up in their application forms, therefore, it cannot be said that the notifications, which were issued for the appointment of the Gramin Dak Sevaks for the year 2022 and the candidates, who were selected in the year 2019 and 2020 will come under a homogenous group. After going through the notification for engagement of Gramin Dak Sevaks and the specific declaration columns, which are available and particularly when the petitioners have mentioned that they have passed the 10th class from Odisha in 2015 and the Board is Indian Certificates of Secondary Education, which are not factually correct inasmuch as they have passed the 10th class from Rural Institute of Open Schooling from Chhattisgarh and since the declaration clearly states that if any details submitted by the candidates is found to be false at the stage of engagement process/during engagement, then the candidature shall be liable to be rejected against all the vacancies, applied for and Page 8 of 9 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 moreover, since Rural Institute of Open Schooling was not recognized by the Postal Directorate, we find that the learned Tribunal is quite justified in rejecting the O.A. filed by the petitioners and in view of the foregoing discussions, we find no illegality in the impugned order of the learned Tribunal. Accordingly, the writ petition being devoid of merits, stands dismissed. Judge ( S.K. Sahoo) Judge ( S.S. Mishra) Rajesh Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: RAJESH KUMAR BADHEI Designation: Junior Stenographer Reason: Authentication Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 23-Oct-2025 10:16:23 Page 9 of 9