The Uttarakhand High Court has held that a candidate who does not claim reservation during the recruitment process cannot later seek its benefit to challenge a selection. Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari dismissed a petition contesting the appointment of an Assistant Teacher (Primary–Science) in Champawat district, ruling that there was no illegality in the selection made under the horizontal quota for Uttarakhand statehood activists.
The case arose from a challenge to the selection list published on January 28, 2026, for primary assistant teachers in the science stream. The petitioner argued that the selected candidate had secured lower marks but was still appointed, and sought quashing of the selection, cancellation of the appointment, and his own appointment on the basis of merit.
The state government informed the court that the selected candidate had been appointed under the Statehood Activists Scheme, which provides 10 per cent horizontal reservation in state services to Uttarakhand statehood activists and their dependents. The recruitment advertisement had clearly stated that horizontal reservation would be applied in accordance with government orders.
Although the petitioner claimed to belong to the same category, the court noted that he had not opted for or claimed the benefit of the statehood activist reservation during the selection process.
Justice Tiwari held that a candidate cannot later complain about denial of reservation benefits that were never claimed at the appropriate stage. The court also observed that once an appointment is made under a specific reserved category, the selected candidate’s marks cannot be directly compared with those of a general category candidate.
Finding no infirmity in the selection or the application of the horizontal quota, the court refused to interfere and dismissed the petition.
