Batch of 21 writ petitions (lead matter W.P.(C) 938/2026, GNCTD/DSSSB v. private candidates; W.P.(C) 506/2023 filed by a private candidate) against 21 orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, concerning cancellation of candidature of candidates who qualified the DSSSB written examination but failed to upload e-dossiers within the prescribed window. HELD: (i) a communication entailing civil consequences attains legal efficacy only when effectively communicated; unilateral website upload without proof of receipt is not valid communication, and the doctrine of effective communication is not diluted because the process is electronic; (ii) the Advertisement contemplated offline hard-copy submission, while the Admit Card stipulated intimation via mobile number, e-mail and website, and the Result Notice stated shortlisted candidates would be separately informed by SMS and e-mail; hence communication is complete only when the website notice is uploaded and SMS/e-mail intimation is sent, giving rise to a legitimate expectation; (iii) the obligation to submit documents cannot arise in vacuo and is contingent on prior intimation of shortlisted status; (iv) where the authority adopts individual communication, the burden of proving effective dispatch rests squarely on it, failing which an adverse inference may be drawn; (v) timelines are binding under Articles 14 and 16 but cannot be viewed in isolation from effective communication; procedural rigidity must not defeat substantive justice, and courts must intervene where denial stems from administrative inadequacy rather than candidate negligence; (vi) case-wise: petitions allowed where undisputed OARS portal records showed timely SMS/e-mail (938/2026, 14309/2025, 12996/2024) or where the sole proof of SMS lacked the phone number (506/2023); petitions dismissed where intimation was belated and truncated the window (553/2019, 15703/2024), where undertakings were general and undated (8979/2019, 10565/2019, 10837/2019, 10765/2019, 9718/2019), or where no proof of intimation was produced (11348/2019, 11997/2019, 13224/2019, 10949/2023, 11351/2023, 15993/2023, 3625/2025, 19763/2025, 12220/2025). Relied on GNCTD v. Jagdeep, W.P.(C) 2786/2018 and DSSB v. Mohan Lal Chhedwal, W.P.(C) 17117/2024.
