Court turns down plea seeking lowering of cut-off marks in UP

The Allahabad High Court in an order has held that the cut off marks for a reserved category in a recruitment process can not be lowered at a later stage on the plea of an unsuccessful aspirant that some vacancies of the reserved quota remained unfilled.
Justice Siddharth while dismissing a petition filed by one Bhuvnesh Pachauri belonging to the category - 'Dependents of Freedom Fighters (General)' - observed that the petitioner participated in the recruitment process and later challenged the select list and prayed that cut off marks for reserved category should be lowered to fill vacant posts.
However, in view of the settled law, once the petitioner submitted himself to the procedure of selection and became unsuccessful, he can not turn around and protest against the terms of process of selection, the court observed.

The petitioner applied on the basis of an advertisement dated October 3, 2013, by the UP Jal Nigam, for the post of Junior Engineers (Civil). He appeared in written examination in the year 2014 in which only five candidates belonging to the category of the petitioner were called upon to appear in interview.
The petitioner's contention was that as per law, two per cent seats were required to be reserved for the "Dependents of Freedom Fighters". The total seats advertised were 469, hencenine posts were required to be reserved for the aforesaid category, but only five candidates were invited for interview and all of them were selected, the court observed.

The UP Jal Nigam's plea was that the cut off marks to qualify for the interview was fixed at 42, but the petitioner obtained only 34 marks, therefore he was not called for interview and that four posts remained unfilled because no one obtained the cut off marks.
The court after hearing both the parties observed that "no relief can be granted to the petitioner regarding his prayer for lowering of cut off marks for his social category of reservation. However, it is open for the petitioner to apply for reserved vacancies carried over for the next recruitment as per state reservation law".