CAT Orders Fresh Height Measurement For Constable Applicant Claiming ST Status After 154.6 Cm Reading Differs From 155 Cm Government Certificate

The applicant challenged her exclusion from the Delhi Police Constable (Executive) Female Examination, 2025, after her height was recorded as 154.6 cm at the PE&MT on 20 August 2026.

She asserted that she belonged to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, had completed the endurance events, and obtained a Government medical certificate two days later recording her height as 155 cm.

The respondents maintained that the PE&MT measurement was conducted under the prescribed procedure and that the subsequent certificate did not displace it.

The Tribunal applied the recruitment standard stated in the order: a minimum height of 157 cm for female candidates, with a 2 cm relaxation for ST candidates, subject to the applicable recruitment rules and examination notice.

It treated a disputed physical measurement as capable of objective verification and directed an independent measurement to ensure that eligibility was assessed accurately; such verification does not itself amount to relaxation of the prescribed standard.

No statute or precedent was identified as the basis of the Tribunal’s decision.

The Tribunal found a specific discrepancy between the recorded height of 154.6 cm and the subsequent Government certificate recording 155 cm.

Because height is objectively measurable, it considered an independent measurement appropriate to resolve the dispute, without deciding the applicant’s ultimate eligibility or granting any relaxation.

It therefore directed a duly constituted Board at a Government hospital to measure the applicant both digitally and manually, and required the respondents to consider the resulting measurement, the applicant’s ST status, the applicable rules, and her merit position.

The measurement must be conducted digitally and manually, with both results recorded.

If the applicant establishes her ST status, the respondents must consider the applicable 2 cm relaxation and thereafter assess her candidature under the relevant eligibility rules and merit position.

The exercise was to be completed, as far as practicable, within four weeks of receipt of the certified order; no automatic right to appointment was granted, and there was no order as to costs.