I ndian Council of Forest ry Research v. Moham m ad Aslam

Judgment

( p e r H o n ’ b l e Ju st i ce Sr i M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i )

1. Respondent , who belongs t o Econom ically Weaker Sect ion, responded t o an advert isem ent issued by I ndian Council of Forest ry Research and Educat ion ( for short ‘I CFRE) ’, for appoint m ent as Scient ist- B. He was perm it t ed t o part icipat e in t he writ t en exam inat ion and t hereaft er int erview also, but lat er, his candidat ure was rej ect ed only on t he ground t hat he has not furnished t he Grade Point Average Conversion Cert ificat e from t he I nst it ut e, which awarded M.Sc. Degree t o him .

2. Respondent approached Cent ral Adm inist rat ive Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, by filing Original Applicat ion No. 2847 of 2023. Learned Tribunal allowed t he Original Applicat ion, set aside t he rej ect ion of candidat ure of t he respondent and direct ed t he com pet ent aut horit y t o issue offer of appoint m ent t o him on t he post of Wood Scient ist- B in EWS cat egory. I n paragraph no. 9.7 of t he im pugned j udgm ent dat ed 22.04.2025, learned Tribunal held t hat non- furnishing of GPA conversion cert ificat e does not ent it le t he aut horit ies t o rej ect his candidat ure, as t he respondent has m ent ioned his percent age/ grade percent age 1 in t he qualifying degree exam inat ion in his applicat ion form in num eric form . Anot her reason assigned for allowing t he Original Applicat ion was t hat respondent had obt ained M.Sc. ( WST) degree from Forest Research I nst it ut e, which is a const it uent inst it ut e of I ndian Council of Forest ry Research and Educat ion.

3. Learned Tribunal furt her held t hat requirem ent of furnishing cert ificat e regarding conversion of GPA int o percent age is not m andat ory, in view of t he condit ion m ent ioned in Clause 9( i) i) of t he advert isem ent , which reads as under: - “ 9 ( i) i) - Cert ificat e regarding conversion of GPA int o percent age, if applicable.”

4. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioners subm it s t hat every candidat e was required t o subm it cert ificat e regarding conversion of GPA int o percent age, however, respondent did not subm it such cert ificat e, t herefore, his candidat ure was rej ect ed. I n support of t his subm ission, learned counsel has drawn at t ent ion of t his Court t o t he following clause in t he Advert isem ent No. DSB/ I CFRE- 2022 dat ed 05.09.2022: -

“ I n case t he qualifying degree ( M.Sc/ B.E./ B.Tech et c.) carries a Grade Point Average ( GPA) syst em , inst ead of Percent age syst em , t he duly cert ified conversion syst em prescribed by inst it ut ion m ust be t o ascert ain requisit e qualificat ion of “ First subm it t ed Class Degree” from t he said educat ional inst it ut ion.” t he educat ional

5. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioners subm it s, t hat t he fact t hat respondent had not subm it t ed t he cert ificat e from t he concerned inst it ut e regarding conversion of GPA int o percent age, cam e t o t he not ice of t he aut horit ies aft er holding writ t en exam inat ion and respondent was inform ed about t he defect in his applicat ion and for t he aforesaid reason, his candidat ure was rej ect ed and t he int erference m ade by learned Tribunal was unwarrant ed. 2

6. Learned counsel t he respondent disput es t he subm ission m ade on behalf of t he pet it ioners t hat respondent was inform ed about defect in his applicat ion, aft er holding writ t en exam inat ion. He subm it s t hat respondent was also called for int erview and if t hat was done aft er pet it ioners’ becam e aware of t he defect , t hen by applicat ion of principle of acquiescence and est oppel, pet it ioners could not have cancelled t he candidat ure of respondent . He subm it s t hat his client appeared in t he int erview, in t he absence of any j udicial order asking t he aut horit ies t o perm it him in int erview. He subm it s t hat in view of t he m arks scored by respondent in t he process of select ion, he has earned a right of appoint m ent , t herefore, t hat right cannot be denied t o him on t he specious plea t hat cert ificat e regarding conversion of GPA int o percent age was not furnished by him .

7. Learned counsel for t he respondent furt her subm it s t hat alt hough t he advert isem ent provided for furnishing of a cert ificat e, however, consequence of non- furnishing of such cert ificat e was not m ent ioned and t here was not hing t o indicat e t hat t he applicat ion m ade by a candidat e would be rej ect ed, if it is not support ed by such cert ificat e.

8. Learned counsel t he respondent subm it s t hat Forest Research I nst it ut e is a const it uent inst it ut e of I ndian Council of Forest ry Research and Educat ion and bot h are sit uat e in t he sam e cam pus.

9. Per cont ra, learned counsel for pet it ioners has drawn our at t ent ion t o t he following inst ruct ions t o candidat es, m ent ioned in t he advert isem ent : - “ 9 ( i) Candidat es ar e required t o keep ready t he following relevant det ails/ inform at ion/ docum ent s/ soft copies at t he t im e of filling t he online applicat ion form : Cert ificat e i) percent age, if applicable. regarding conversion of GPA int o 3 ( iv) Uploaded phot ograph, specim en signat ure and ot her docum ent s m ust be clearly ident ifiable/ visible, ot herwise t he applicat ion of t he candidat e is liable t o be rej ect ed and no represent at ion from t he candidat e will be ent ert ained. t he inform at ion t he applicat ion ( xi) Candidat es are inform ed t hat t here are provisions for edit ing at m any st ages. Once t he com plet e process of form , filling up uploading of t he phot ograph, signat ure and ot her docum ent s is com plet ed, t he candidat e can view t he ent ire applicat ion t he uploaded phot ograph, signat ure and ot her docum ent s and can st ill edit at t his point t o m ake/ incorporat e any change/ edit ing in any t he applicat ion field of form before final subm ission or aft er subm ission. However, aft er m aking paym ent of applicat ion fee, t he candidat e w ill not be able t o m ake any changes in t he filled/ subm it t ed form . t oget her wit h 10( xviii) No request wit h respect t o t he change in any dat a subm it t ed by t he candidat es in t he online applicat ion form will be ent ert ained once it is finally subm it t ed. No scanned docum ent will be accept ed t hr ough e- m ail or any ot her m ode aft er final subm ission of applicat ion. No correspondence will be ent ert ained in t his regard. ( xx) The m ere fact t hat a candidat e has been called for writ t en exam inat ion and/ or int erview does not im ply t hat his/ her candidat ure has been finally cleared by I CFRE. The candidat e m ust not e t hat if his/ her ineligibilit y is det ect ed at any st age before or aft er t he writ t en exam inat ion and/ or int erview or if t he condit ions prescribed in t he Rules and I nst ruct ions given in t he advert isem ent or any ot her addit ional inform at ion/ docum ent s called for at any st age are not com plied wit h wit hin t he t im e specified t herein, his/ her candidat ure will be liable for cancellat ion. The I CFRE will not be responsible for cancellat ion of candidat ure on t his account . • Candidat es should fill applicat ion form very carefully. if a I n case of wrongly subm it t ed applicat ion, candidat e want s t o generat e new applicat ion for t he sam e discipline, he can do so by regist ering again using different E- m ail I D and m aking paym ent of Fees.”

10. From inst ruct ions t o candidat es, as m ent ioned Clause 9 of t he advert isem ent , it is revealed t hat candidat es were caut ioned t o keep t he relevant det ails, inform at ion/ docum ent s/ soft copy, ready at t he t im e of filling online applicat ion form s, however, it does not indicat e t hat non- furnishing of t he relevant docum ent s/ inform at ion would result in rej ect ion of t heir candidat ure. Sim ilarly, t he ot her 4 clauses of t he advert isem ent , relied upon by learned counsel for t he pet it ioners, cannot be pressed int o service for support ing t he decision t o rej ect t he candidat ure of respondent , as is nowhere provided t hat uploading cert ificat e regarding conversion of GPA int o percent age, is m andat ory and failure t o upload such cert ificat e will result in cancellat ion of candidat ure of a candidat e.

11. Law is well set t led t hat in case of any am biguit y in t he advert isem ent for appoint m ent t o a public post or in t he inform at ion brochure for adm ission t o an educat ional inst it ut ion, benefit t hereof has t o go t o t he candidat e. Requirem ent furnishing cert ificat e regarding conversion of GPA int o percent age alt hough was indicat ed in t he advert isem ent , but it was not m ent ioned t hat it is an essent ial condit ion of eligibilit y and t he consequence of non- furnishing of such cert ificat e was also not indicat ed in t he advert isem ent . Moreover, aft er scrut iny of t he applicat ions, respondent was not only perm it t ed t o part icipat e in t he writ t en exam inat ion, but , he was also called for int erview, t hus, he part icipat ed t he different st ages of select ion.

12. Hon’ble Suprem e Court in case of Va sh i st N a r a y a n K u m a r Vs. Th e St a t e o f Bi h a r , report ed in 2 0 2 4 SCC On Li n e SC 2 , while dealing wit h sim ilar cont roversy, has held as follows: - “ 2 0 . I n t his case, t he appellant has part icipat ed in t he select ion process and cleared all t he st ages successfully. The error in t he applicat ion is t rivial which did not play any part in t he select ion process. The St at e was not j ust ified in t he m aking a m ount ain out of rarefied at m osphere of t he cybercafe, got t he bet t er of t he appellant . He om it t ed t o not ice t he error and even failed t o avail t he correct ive m echanism offered. I n t he inst ant case, we cannot t urn a Nelson's eye t o t he ground realit ies t hat exist ed. I n t he order dat ed 22.11.2021 in C.A. No. 6983 of 2021 [ Prince Jaibir Singh v. Union of I ndia] , t his Court right ly observed t hat t hough t echnology is a great enabler, t his m olehill. Perhaps 5 t here is at t he sam e t im e, a digit al divide.”

13. The law declared by Hon’ble Suprem e Court in t he aforesaid j udgm ent applies t o t he fact s of t he present case wit h full force. Even ot herwise also, learned Tribunal has given valid reasons for allowing t he Original Applicat ion.

14. We concur wit h t he reasoning given by learned Tribunal. Thus, we do not see any good ground t o int erfere in t he m at t er. The writ pet it ion fails and is dism issed. _______________________________ M A N OJ K UM A R TI W A RI , J. ____________________________ SUBH A SH UPA D H YA Y, J. Dt : 4 t h July, 2025 Mahinder MAHINDER SINGH Digitally signed by MAHINDER SINGH DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=da6212e6e78d94ed3134842bc6a8d6ca168979ca7b8c2f031a92d1a18b08923c, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=AB77B7C5B240908B392BE84F5CDD4C2AF35DC4626D305B1BC9EA4BABA43D2B8F, cn=MAHINDER SINGH 6