DSSSB AND ORS v. PRAVEEN KUMAR

1. The present writ petition under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India seeks to assail the order dated 27.04.2023 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Tribunal’) in O.A. No.1471/2021. Vide the impugned order, the learned Tribunal has allowed the OA preferred by the respondent by directing the petitioner to process his candidature for the post of Physical Education Teacher notified vide advertisement bearing no. 04/2020.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned order is liable to be set aside as the learned Tribunal has failed to appreciate that once it was made mandatory for all candidates to upload their latest postcard size photograph (5 inches x 7 inches), the candidature of the respondent, who had uploaded only a passport size photograph, was rightly rejected. He submits that the directions to candidates to upload their postcard size photograph as against passport size photograph was issued pursuant to the directions issued by the Apex Court in W.P.(C) 234/2018 titled Shantanu Kumar & Ors. vs. UOI & Ors.. Merely because the respondent was, pursuant to the interim orders passed by the learned Tribunal, permitted to submit his postcard size photograph in the offline mode before the examination and was consequently issued the necessary admit card, would not imply that this vital lapse on his part could be condoned. He, therefore, prays that the impugned order be set aside.

3. Having heard the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner, we may begin by noting the relevant extracts of the impugned order which read as under:

12. Following the aforesaid decision, Hon‟ble High Court of Delhi in Ajay Kumar Mishra vs Union of India & Ors.[WP (C) No.11642/2016 decided on 23.12.2016] held that there is a difference between a mere inadvertent error and misrepresentation or suppression, and there could be no intentional misrepresentation if such error is rectified by submission of documentary proof. Relevant portion of the said decision reads as under:-

13. Admittedly, when the applicant has already uploaded the photograph of correct size as prescribed in the advertisement and provided his ID Proof details and postcard size photograph for the post in question, his candidature cannot be rejected due to minor inadvertent error and hence deserves consideration.”

4. From the aforesaid findings of the learned Tribunal, it emerges that as per the advertisement though every candidate was required to upload his/her postcard size photograph along with the application form, the respondent had inadvertently uploaded only a passport size photograph. It is the respondent’s case that as soon as he realised his mistake, he approached the petitioner with his postcard size photograph, which was not accepted, compelling him to approach the Tribunal. Vide its interim order, the learned Tribunal not only directed the petitioner to accept the postcard size photograph of the respondent but also permitted him to appear in the exam in which he emerged successful. Consequently, when the respondent appeared in the examination his postcard size photograph was already available with the petitioner. The question, however, would be whether this mistake was of such a nature that his candidature should be rejected. The learned Tribunal was of the view that this lapse on the part of the respondent was a minor inadvertent mistake.

5. In the light of the facts noted hereinabove, we see no reason to take a different view as we are also of the view that this mistake was not of such a grave nature that the respondent should be told that despite his having emerged successful in the examination, his candidature will be rejected. It also needs to be noted that even this mistake, though minor in nature, stood rectified before the examination itself.

6. Further, we cannot lose sight of the fact that generally, as a matter of practice, in most public examination, candidates are required to affix/upload only their passport size photograph. The requirement to upload postcard size photographs was introduced by the petitioner only pursuant to directions issued in Shantanu Kumar (supra). No doubt the postcard size photograph is much bigger than a passport size photograph and will go a long way in avoiding cases of impersonation in the public examinations. This, however, would not imply that the mistake on the part of the respondent, which as hereinabove noted stood rectified before the examination itself, should be a ground to cancel his candidature. In this regard, we may refer to a recent decision in Vashist Narayan Kumar vs. The State of Bihar & Ors. 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2, wherein the Apex Court, while dealing with a case of a candidate who had made an inadvertent mistake by entering his date of birth as 08.12.1997 instead of 18.12.1997, his actual date of birth, held as under:-