Error in recording an employee's deputation cannot prejudice their selection rights.

The applicant, Sanjay Kumar, was initially appointed as a Track Man in the office of SSE (P Way), Bikaner, NWR, on April 1, 2014, belonging to the OBC reserved category.

On June 4, 2018, he was deputed to work as a Track Maintainer under the Assistant Divisional Engineer (TMC).

A notification was issued on August 30, 2019, inviting applications for 137 vacancies (45 reserved for OBC) for the post of Khallasi (TMC).

The applicant, fulfilling all eligibility criteria, submitted his application, which was forwarded by his controlling officer.

An eligibility list was published on December 23, 2019, where the applicant appeared at serial No. 15, but incorrectly stated "no" under the column inquiring if he was employed in the TMC organization.

The final select/suitability list, published on March 18, 2020, did not include the applicant's name.

The applicant contended that he was deprived of his legitimate right due to an error in the eligibility list, despite being in a higher preferential category as he was working in the TMC organization.

Subsequent communications dated July 16, 2021, and August 18, 2011, confirmed that the error in not communicating the applicant's temporary working status in the TMC organization was attributable to the Assistant Divisional Engineer, Bikaner.

1. Whether the applicant was wrongly excluded from the select/suitability list for the post of Khallasi (TMC) due to an administrative error regarding his employment in the TMC organization.

2. Whether the respondents should be directed to correct the error and consider the applicant's case for the post of Khallasi (TMC).

The Tribunal based its decision on the principle that an applicant should not be made to suffer due to an error committed by the respondent authority.

It relied on the factual admission that the applicant was working in the TMC organization since June 5, 2018, as evidenced by communication dated June 4, 2018, and his joining report.

The communications dated July 16, 2021, and August 18, 2011, further revealed that the information regarding the applicant's temporary deputation to TMC was not correctly communicated by the Assistant Divisional Engineer, Bikaner.

The court found that the applicant's exclusion from the select/suitability list resulted solely from an administrative error committed by the Assistant Divisional Engineer, Bikaner, who failed to correctly communicate the applicant's working status in the TMC organization.

It was undisputed that the applicant had been working in the TMC since June 5, 2018.

Despite the applicant properly submitting his application, the eligibility list incorrectly indicated that he was not employed in the TMC organization, thereby depriving him of his rightful preference and inclusion in the final list.

The court emphasized that the applicant himself was not at fault, and therefore, he should not be penalized for the respondents' oversight.

This direct link between the administrative error and the applicant's deprivation of legitimate right justified the intervention of the Tribunal.

This exercise was to be completed within three months.

The court also directed that the status quo regarding the applicant's working in the TMC organization be maintained until compliance.

Furthermore, if no vacant post of Khallasi (TMC) was available, a supernumerary post was to be created to ensure justice to the applicant.

The MA No. 02/2022 was also disposed of.