OBC certificates issued up to 180 days after application closing date must be accepted for recruitment.

The petitioner applied for the post of Constable (GD) in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) pursuant to an advertisement dated 05.09.2024

Although the petitioner belongs to the OBC category, his OBC (NCL) certificate had expired on 03.06.2024, and he was unable to produce a valid certificate by the prescribed deadline

Consequently, the respondent authorities treated him as an "Unreserved Category" candidate. Having failed to meet the cut-off marks for the general category, he was denied selection

The petitioner challenged Clause 6.5 of the advertisement, alleging it conflicted with a Government of India notification dated 17.08.2017

The Court primarily applied the Government of India Notification dated 17.08.2017, issued following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of SLP No. 3116/2017 in Union of India v. Abdul Rasheed

This notification establishes that the Commission shall not insist on candidates producing OBC certificates strictly within a narrow cut-off; rather, certificates are valid if issued within three years before the last date of receipt of applications and up to 180 days after the closing date

the court applied the principle of Mandamus to compel authorities to perform their legal duty in accordance with subsisting government circulars

The Court examined the conflict between the advertisement’s clauses and the 180-day grace period mandated by the 2017 notification. The respondents conceded through written instructions that the 2017 notification "still continue[s] to hold the field"

The Court noted that the closing date for applications was 14.10.2024, and the petitioner had obtained his updated OBC (NCL) certificate on that exact date. Since the notification explicitly prevents the Commission from rejecting certificates issued within 180 days after the closing date, the Court reasoned that a certificate issued on the closing date must necessarily be accepted

The Court found that the benefit of this policy was erroneously withheld from the petitioner during the document verification stage

The Court allowed the writ petition and remanded the matter to the respondent authorities. The respondents were directed to reconsider the petitioner’s candidature under the OBC category by taking into account his NCL certificate dated 14.10.2024. If found eligible under the OBC cut-off, the authorities are directed to issue a consequential appointment order, noting that his medical examination has already been completed.