Dismissed¶22

Mahender Prasad Ojha v. Union of India & Anr.

Delhi HC11 Feb 2026W.P.(C)/1889/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Delhi High Court dismisses railway employee's writ petition upholding CAT (PB) dismissal of OA No. 3018/2024: LDCE notification dated 29.10.2024 for Assistant Commercial Manager posts open only to Commercial Department employees; petitioner (Station Master since 08.05.2001; Schizophrenia since 2006; supernumerary Senior Canteen Manager posting in General Administration Department since 28.01.2021) admittedly not in that Department in 2024; liberty to file representation, to be considered sympathetically within 3 months.

What did the court decide?

Liberty to the Petitioner to make a representation to the Respondent disclosing his grievances, to be considered sympathetically and in accordance with law within a period of next 3 months. ¶22

Mahender Prasad Ojha Vs Union of India & Anr. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty to the Petitioner to make a representation to the Respondent disclosing his grievances, to be considered sympathetically and in accordance with law within a period of next 3 months.

¶22

Issue for consideration

Whether the Impugned Judgment of the Tribunal dismissing OA No. 3018/2024 — rejecting the Petitioner's candidature for the post of Assistant Commercial Manager (ACM) under the LDCE notification dated 29.10.2024 — contains any infirmity or error, given that the ACM post is in the Commercial Department and available only to employees of that Department. +1 more

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Court's answer

The post of ACM sought under the LDCE exercise is a post in the Commercial Department, available only to employees from that Department, and admittedly in the year 2024 the Petitioner was not posted in the Commercial Department.

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Ratio / Principle

In such circumstances, this Court finds no infirmity or error in the Impugned Judgment passed by the Tribunal dismissing OA No. 3018/2024.

¶21

Key takeaways

Having regard to the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the Petitioner is granted liberty to make a representation to the Respondent disclosing his grievances, which shall be considered sympathetically and in accordance with law within the next 3 months.obiter¶21

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

W.P.(C) 1889/2026, High Court of Delhi (Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan, JJ.), Order dated 11.02.2026 — Mahender Prasad Ojha v Union of India & Anr. The Petitioner, appointed Station Master in Northern Railways (Respondent No.2) on 08.05.2001 and declared in 2006 to be suffering from Schizophrenia, was reassigned over time — first as Head Enquiry and Reservation Clerk (E&RC) in the Commercial Department, and, pursuant to the disposal of his earlier OA No. 3444/2014 by Order dated 03.09.2015, as Senior Canteen Manager/Staff Canteen in the General Administration Department w.e.f. 28.01.2021. His candidature for the post of Assistant Commercial Manager under the LDCE notification dated 29.10.2024 was rejected, and the Principal Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal, New Delhi dismissed his OA No. 3018/2024 by judgment dated 28.07.2025. Held: the ACM post is in the Commercial Department and available only to employees of that Department; the Petitioner was admittedly not posted in the Commercial Department in 2024; accordingly, no infirmity or error was found in the Impugned Judgment. The petition was dismissed, with liberty granted to the Petitioner to make a representation disclosing his grievances, to be considered sympathetically and in accordance with law within 3 months.

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$~1

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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W.P.(C) 1889/2026 MAHENDER PRASAD OJHA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Abhishek Upadhyay and Mr. Antaryami Upadhyay, Adv.

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versus

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UNION OF INDIA & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Rohan Jaitley, CGSC with Mr. Dev Pratap Shahi GP, Mr. Varun Pratap Singh and Mr. Yogya Bhatia, Advs.

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CORAM:

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HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KSHETARPAL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN

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O R D E R % 11.02.2026

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The present petition has been filed assailing the correctness of the judgment dated 28.07.2025 [hereinafter referred to as „Impugned Judgment‟] passed by the Principal Bench, Central Administrative Tribunal, New Delhi [hereinafter referred to as „Tribunal‟], dismissing the Original Application (OA) No.3018/2024 titled Mahendra Prasad Ojha v Union of India & Anr. , filed by the Petitioner to consider and allow his candidature for the post of Assistant Commercial Manager (ACM) in terms of Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) notification dated 29.10.2024 issued by the Respondents. 2. The Petitioner claims to be suffering with a medical condition, namely Schizophrenia. It is submitted that the Petitioner entered the service of the Respondent No.2/Northern Railways, having been appointed as a Station Master on 08.05.2001. However, in the year

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 16/02/2026 at 13:33:48

¶12

2006, he was declared to be suffering from the aforesaid disease. Whereafter, the Petitioner approached the competent authorities seeking a posting commensurate with his medical condition. In consideration thereof, he was assigned to the post of Head Enquiry and Reservation Clerk (E&RC) in the Commercial Department.

¶13

Subsequently, the Petitioner preferred an OA No. 3444/2014 before the Tribunal, which came to be disposed of vide Order dated 03.09.2015, directing the Respondents to re-examine the matter and assign to the Petitioner a posting suitable with his medical condition within a period of 03 weeks. Pursuant thereto, on 28.01.2021, the Petitioner was posted as Senior Canteen Manager/Staff Canteen under Senior Division Mechanical Engineer (DME)/Train set Depot SSB, in the General Administration Department.

¶14

On 29.10.2024, a Recruitment Notice was issued inviting applications for filling up vacancies of ACM in the Commercial Department. The Petitioner applied for the said post; however, his candidature was rejected. Aggrieved by such action, he filed OA No.3018/2024, which has been dismissed by the Tribunal. It is this order of dismissal which has been challenged before this Court.

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We have heard learned counsel representing the parties at length.

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Learned counsel representing the Petitioner submits that the Petitioner has been shifted to a supernumerary post in the General Administration Department and is left with no further avenue for promotion or career progress. It is contended that the Petitioner has been made to stagnate, despite his medical condition and long years of service.

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This Court has considered the aforesaid submissions made by

¶18

This is a digitally signed order.

¶19

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 16/02/2026 at 13:33:48

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the learned counsel representing the Petitioner.

¶21

It is evident that the OA No.3018/2024 was filed seeking consideration of the application and candidature of the Petitioner for the post of ACM, which is a post in the Commercial Department, available only to the employees from the said Department. Admittedly, in the year 2024, the Petitioner was not posted in the Commercial Department, in such circumstances, this Court finds no infirmity or error in the Impugned Judgment passed by the Tribunal. 9. However, having regard to the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case, the Petitioner is granted liberty to make a representation to the Respondent for disclosing his grievances. Upon such representation made, the same shall be considered sympathetically and in accordance with law within a period of next 3 months.

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Accordingly, the present Petition stands dismissed.

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ANIL KSHETARPAL, J.

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AMIT MAHAJAN, J.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2026/JYH/hr

¶26

This is a digitally signed order.

¶27

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 16/02/2026 at 13:33:48

Mahender Prasad Ojha v. Union of India & Anr.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Mahender Prasad Ojha v. Union of India & Anr.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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What the court decided

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Procedural history

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