Guwahati, August 30, 2024 — In a significant ruling, the Gauhati High Court has ordered the appointment of candidates who were denied positions as Junior Engineers (Civil) under Assam’s Panchayat and Rural Development (P&RD) Department, despite securing higher marks in the final selection list. The decision, delivered by Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, responds to a writ petition filed by candidates from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category.
The case arose from a recruitment advertisement published on June 24, 2020, to fill 344 Junior Engineer (Civil) posts, with 33 reserved for EWS candidates. The petitioners, who claimed to have been selected on merit, alleged they were unjustly denied appointments due to issues with their EWS certificates.
The petitioners argued that their EWS certificates, issued during the 2019-2020 financial year, were valid for the recruitment process. They contended that the rejection of their certificates was arbitrary, as the advertisement did not specify clear guidelines on the timing and format of EWS certificates. They also pointed out that candidates with lower marks were appointed in their place.
In its ruling, the court observed that the advertisement lacked specific guidelines for EWS certificate format, leading to ambiguity in the recruitment process. Justice Medhi noted that EWS reservations were introduced relatively recently in 2019, and the absence of a standardized certificate format until 2022 added to the confusion.
The court ruled that the rejection of the petitioners’ certificates was unreasonable given the emerging nature of EWS reservations and the lack of clear guidelines. Justice Medhi directed the P&RD Department to appoint the petitioners as Junior Engineers, highlighting that the decision was tailored to the unique circumstances of this case.
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