Director Transport Department Union ... vs Mr. Abhinav Dipakbhai Patel

2. An advertisement was issued on 25.10.2014 calling for applications for filling up two posts of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors, one of them reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category. It was made clear in the advertisement that all Indian citizens could apply for appointment to the post. However, persons having ‘Domicile’ in Dadra and Nagar Haveli would be given weightage. Candidates claiming to be members of a Scheduled Tribe were required to furnish an attested copy of the certificate issued by the competent authority stating that he/ she belongs to the Scheduled Tribe community. The Respondent applied for selection to the post of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector and after scrutiny of 114 applications that were received, it was found that three candidates belonging to the ‘General’ category and two from the ‘Scheduled Tribe’ category were eligible. The respondent appeared in the written examination on 01.07.2015. To his surprise, the Respondent found that the 2 result of the written examination for the Scheduled Tribe vacancy was not announced while announcing the result for the unreserved post on 11.07.2015. As there was no response to the representations made by him regarding his non-selection to the post of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector, he approached the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Govt. of India. The National Commission, being convinced that the Respondent was a resident of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and that he belongs to a Scheduled Tribe category, directed the representative of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to seek a clarification from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India and appoint the Respondent thereafter. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India clarified that the Respondent was eligible for appointment and advised the concerned authority to take appropriate action as per the directions issued by the National Commission for Schedule Tribes. After a series of correspondence between the Government of India, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and the National Commission, an order was passed on 25.07.2016 by the National Commission directing the Appellants to 3 issue a letter of appointment in favour of the Respondent. Since no action was taken to appoint the Respondent, he was constrained to file a Writ Petition in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay.

4. The High Court was not impressed with the submission of the Appellants that the members of the Scheduled Tribe category from outside the Union Territory were excluded from consideration for appointment to the public post in the Union Territory in the reserved category. Weightage of marks given to local candidates in the selection indicates that outsiders were not excluded from consideration, according to the High Court. The Respondent was found to be a resident of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and though he migrated from the State of Gujarat, he was entitled to be considered for appointment as a reserved category candidate. On the basis of the said findings, the High Court directed the Appellants to appoint Respondent as Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector with effect from the date 5 of appointment of other candidates from the same selection process.

13. We have no reason to interfere with the judgment of the High Court. Accordingly, the Appeal is dismissed.