Held that illness is not a valid excuse for missing the fee submission deadline. Exceptions would disturb the uniform selection process. The writ petition was dismissed.
Petitioner's candidature for the Main Examination remained rejected based on the Commission's decision.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
2025:UHC:7866
| SL. No. |
Date | Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures |
COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| WPSS/1460/2025 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J 1. Mr. Vinay Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner. 2. Mr. Pankaj Miglani, learned counsel for the respondent-UPSC. |
|||
| 3. Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (in short “Commission”) issued an advertisement for Uttarakhand Combined State Civil / Lower Subordinate Service, 2024. Petitioner responded to the said advertisement and participated in the Preliminary Examination. |
|||
| 4. The selection process consists of three stages, namely, Preliminary Examination, Main Examination followed by Interview. |
|||
| 5. Petitioner was declared successful in the Preliminary Examination. As per instructions issued by Commission, every candidate, who clears the Preliminary Examination, has to apply afresh for appearing in the Main Examination and has also to deposit requisite fee upto the specific date. |
|||
| 6. In the present case, Commission indicated the last date for submission of application for Mains Examination and also for submission of Examination Fee, as 18.08.2025. Since petitioner could not submit the fee nor the application form for Main Examination upto the date specified by the Commission, therefore, her candidature was rejected by the |
2025:UHC:7866
Commission and list of candidates, whose candidature was rejected on account of delay, was published on 28.08.2025, in which petitioner’s name is also included. Thus, feeling aggrieved, petitioner approached this Court. 7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner was unwell, therefore, she could not submit application within the given time, therefore, her case deserves to be considered sympathetically. 8. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the Commission submits that thousands of candidates apply for a given selection and the selection has to be completed in a time bound manner and if decision is taken on sympathetic considerations in such matters, then it will be difficult for the Commission to complete the selection in time, which will be counterproductive and against public interest. He further submits that last date for submission of application for Mains Examination is indicated well in advance and that date is applicable across the board to all candidates, therefore, no exception can be made in favour of any person, including petitioner. 9. This Court finds substance in the submission made by learned counsel for the Commission. Merely because petitioner was unwell will not be a valid justification for her not to submit application, within time. As Selecting Body, Commission has to formulate rules and to enforce them uniformly in respect of all candidates, therefore, indulgence given in favour of one candidate will disturb and derail the selection process.
2025:UHC:7866
Thus, this Court does not find any reason
to interfere in the matter.
10. Accordingly, the writ petition fails
and is dismissed.
(Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J)
04.09.2025
Aswal
NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL Digitally signed by NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eacc6757ee7881e933ff8934f07477005aa85f9802a3a08b08d1369512ea30f3, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=44EB54CBF00B7698CB6F10C2CE3D26F5C22DACF4F4610C1FE58A58531726FBB0, cn=NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL Date: 2025.09.08 06:56:51 -07'00'
2 issues framed by the court
Whether a candidate's illness is a valid justification for failing to submit examination fee and application within the stipulated deadline.
Whether the selection commission can be permitted to make exceptions to the uniform deadline for all candidates on sympathetic grounds.
Petitioner
Uttarakhand Public Service Commission
Manoj Kumar Tiwari
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
