2022 (7) TMI 1383

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.... of Constables in the Railway Protection Force [For short, the 'RPF'] The process of selection comprised of written examination consisting of 120 multiple choice objection type questions of one mark each and of 90 minutes duration. The candidates had to obtain at least 35% marks (30% in the case of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates) in the written examination for being considered for other Test such as Physical Efficiency Test [For short, the 'PET'] Para 8 Clause B of the Advertisement gives the requirement of an application form and also that the said application should be filled up by the candidates in their own handwriting, in Hindi or English only. The applications were required to be accompanied by a self-attested matriculation certificate as proof of educational qualification and age. The relevant conditions read as under: "8. xxx xxx B. Application form' a) The format of the application form is given in Annexure 'A'. Application forms can be downloaded from the official website of Indian Railways (www.indlanrailways.gov.in) or taken from the Employment News or from this advertisement and submitted on A-4 size bond paper, using one s....

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....vernment Examiner of Questioned Documents [For short, the 'GEQD'] on 2.9.2014. The expert's opinion was that 4 For short, the 'GEQD' the signatures on the OMR sheet and on the xerox copies of the certificates are by one and the same person. It was also opined that it is not possible to express any opinion in respect of para written in Hindi in the OMR sheet and in English in the application form. 6. Since the writ petitioner was not appointed, though he had obtained 73.32 marks against the cut-off of 58.5 marks in the OBC category, he filed a writ petition before the High Court of Allahabad. An order was passed by the High Court on 19.10.2016 wherein the matter was remitted to the appellants to reconsider the entire issue, including thumb impression and finger prints that have taken place at various stages of the examination. An opportunity was given to the writ petitioner to make a fresh application which shall be heard by the Chief Security Commissioner. The candidature of the writ petitioner was rejected on 27.1.2017 by the Competent Authority, inter alia, on the following grounds: "In compliance to the order of the Hon'ble High Court, the dossier concerned t....

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....hether the same person has appeared for the written examination who had filled up the application form. The High Court has basically relied upon the fact that from the opinion of the handwriting expert, there is no proof of charge of impersonation. However, it was held that the application form had been filled up in the year 2011 whereas the examination took place in the year 2013, therefore, the writ petitioner had filled up Column No. 3 of the OMR sheet in Hindi inadvertently on account of time gap between the filling up of the application form and the examination. 9. The question required to be examined herein is to the effect of violation of the condition provided in the advertisement that the application has to be in the language for which the candidates want to attempt the question paper, and what is the effect of using different language in the application form than the OMR sheet. 10. Ms. Madhavi Divan, learned ASG has argued that the use of different language in the application form than what is used in the OMR sheet by itself entails rejection of the candidature. Ms. Divan has referred to a judgment reported as State of Tamil Nadu & Ors. v. G. Hemalathaa & Anr. [(202....

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....Hindi and English as well. The applications in different languages were to be sent to different Nodal Officers in Gorakhpur, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar and Chennai. Still further, the OMR answer sheet is bilingual, in Hindi and English, but it would be in some other language if a candidate has chosen a language other than English or Hindi. 13. The sole reasoning given by the Division Bench of the High Court of time gap between the filling up of the application form and the examination, and hence inadvertent filling up of OMR sheet in Hindi by the writ petitioner is based on surmises and conjectures. Once the writ petitioner has filled the application form in English, having also signed in English, it cannot be said to be an inadvertent mistake when he has written the para in Hindi. Such writing in different language violates the instruction clearly mentioned in the advertisement. 14. The argument of Mr. Bhushan that use of different language is not followed by any consequence and, therefore, cannot be said to be mandatory is not tenable. The language chosen is relevant to ensure that the candidate who has filled up the application form alone appears in the written examination to m....