The Kerala High Court has held that a candidate who applied for a government post under the general category cannot later claim reservation benefits if their community was added to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list after the last date of application. The Court set aside the Kerala Administrative Tribunal’s (KAT) order that had extended such a benefit to the candidate.
The division bench comprising Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Johnson John delivered the judgment on July 4, 2025, in O.P. (KAT) No. 433 of 2024.
Background
The case concerned a selection process initiated by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) through a notification dated August 30, 2016, for the post of High School Assistant (Physical Science) in Malayalam medium. The last date for submitting applications was October 5, 2016.
One of the candidates, Smt. Minusha K. (7th respondent), had applied under the general category. At the time of application, her community — Mukhari/Moovari — was not listed among the OBCs. However, a Government Order dated December 18, 2018, later included her community under the OBC list. Subsequently, she obtained a non-creamy layer certificate and updated her PSC profile on June 13, 2019.
The PSC published the ranked list on November 18, 2020, where Minusha was listed under the general category, while the petitioner, Smt. Sini K.V., was ranked under the OBC category. Minusha then requested to be considered under the OBC category. The PSC rejected this request.
The Kerala Administrative Tribunal, however, ruled in Minusha’s favor, reasoning that the reservation should be considered at the time of appointment and not at the time of application. The Tribunal further noted that PSC had extended such benefit in another case involving appointment to the post of Woman Police Constable.
High Court’s Analysis
The High Court disagreed with the Tribunal. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Karn Singh Yadav v. State (NCT of Delhi) [(2024) 2 SCC 716], the bench observed:
“If the applicants are permitted to rectify applications after cut-off dates, the same would render the scrutiny process indefinite.”
The Court emphasized that the inclusion of a community in the OBC list after the cut-off date does not entitle a candidate to retrospectively claim reservation. It noted:
“Equal opportunity in public employment is a core constitutional value. One cannot steal a march over others by chance… If at the time of notification the reservation cannot be claimed, it cannot be claimed subsequently.”
The Court also cited J&K Public Service Commission v. Israr Ahmad [(2005) 12 SCC 498], in which the Supreme Court held that a candidate who did not apply under the reserved category cannot later seek the benefit of reservation by producing a certificate at a subsequent stage.
While the Tribunal had justified its decision by citing a prior instance where PSC granted such benefit, the High Court dismissed this reasoning, stating:
“One wrong cannot create a right for others.”
Holding that the Tribunal had committed a serious error, the High Court set aside its order and allowed the original petition filed by Smt. Sini K.V.
