Disposed¶9

Anupriya Raj v. State of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand HC2 Apr 2026WPSS/708/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Age relaxation — reserved category relaxation confined to upper age limit, unavailable for minimum age of 21 years; Assistant Teacher recruitment, Government Primary School, Uttarakhand; petitioner below minimum age sought Scheduled Caste relaxation — refused; direction to Competent Authority to decide representation within two months of certified copy; WPSS/708/2026; 2026:UHC:2337; Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.; decided 02.04.2026; writ petition disposed of; no statutes or cases cited.

What did the court decide?

No relief on the age-relaxation prayer; the concerned Authority was directed to take a decision on the petitioner's representation as per law within two months from presentation of a certified copy of the order. ¶9

Anupriya Raj Vs State of Uttarakhand — Uttarakhand HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

¶9

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, a Scheduled Caste candidate who is yet to complete the prescribed minimum age of 21 years, is entitled to relaxation of the minimum age criteria for appointment as Assistant Teacher. +1 more

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Court's answer

The relief of relaxing the minimum age criteria cannot be granted, because relaxation for reserved-category candidates is available only in the upper age limit (to protect candidates who have crossed that limit), not in the minimum age requirement.

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Ratio / Principle

As the petitioner is yet to complete the minimum age prescribed for appointment, the benefit available to Scheduled Caste category candidates is not available to her.

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Key takeaways

If a representation has been made, the concerned Authority shall take a decision on it as per law, within two months from the date of presentation of a certified copy of this order.ratio¶8

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ Petition (Service) (WPSS/708/2026, High Court of Uttarakhand, Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J., decided 02.04.2026; Neutral Citation 2026:UHC:2337) — Recruitment, Assistant Teacher, Government Primary School. The petitioner was permitted to participate in the selection process but was thereafter informed that she did not meet the age requirement, the minimum prescribed age for appointment being 21 years. She sought a direction to relax the minimum age criteria of 21 years for the Scheduled Caste category. Held: the relief, as prayed, cannot be granted; relaxation for reserved-category candidates is available only in the upper age limit, to ensure no candidate is denied consideration merely for having crossed the upper age limit — a candidate who is yet to complete the prescribed minimum age cannot claim that benefit. Since counsel submitted that the petitioner had made a representation to the Competent Authority, the Authority was directed to take a decision on it, as per law, within two months of presentation of a certified copy of the order. Writ petition disposed of accordingly. No statutory provision or precedent was cited in the judgment.

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2026:UHC:2337

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SL. No.	Date	Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures	COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS
			WPSS/708/2026 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.
			Mr. Reituparna Joshi, Advocate for the petitioner.
			2. Mr. S.S. Chaudhary, Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand.
			3. Petitioner applied for the post of Assistant Teacher in Government Primary School. She was permitted to participate in the selection process. Upon conclusion of the selection process, petitioner was informed that she does not meet the age requirement, inasmuch as, the minimum age prescribed for appointment is 21 years.
			4. By means of this writ petition, petitioner has sought a direction to the respondent to relax the minimum age criteria of 21 years for Scheduled Caste category.
			5. The relief, as prayed, cannot be granted. For reserved category candidates relaxation is available in upper age limit to ensure that no one is denied his/her right to be considered for appointment merely on the ground that the candidate concerned has crossed the upper age limit.
			6. Petitioner is yet to complete the minimum age prescribed for appointment, therefore, the benefit available to Scheduled Caste category candidates is not available to her.

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2026:UHC:2337

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7. Learned counsel for the petitioner
submits that petitioner has made a representation to the Competent Authority.
8. If that is so, then the concerned Authority shall take decision on the representation made by petitioner, as per law, within two months from the date of presentation of certified copy of this order.
9. With the aforesaid direction, writ petition stands disposed of.
(Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 02.04.2026 Navin NAVEEN CHANDRA Digitally signed by NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f487df006da82a131bb4e4403 d3c0a15, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819DA875643AF56D653D095C6 ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA Date: 2026.04.02 17:51:58 +05'30'

Anupriya Raj v. State of Uttarakhand

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Anupriya Raj v. State of Uttarakhand

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

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