Uttarakhand High Court Upholds Reservation Protocol in Teacher Selection

The Uttarakhand High Court ruled that candidates cannot contest reservation benefits they failed to claim during selection. Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari upheld the appointment of a candidate under the horizontal reservation category, dismissing a petition challenging the selection process for an Assistant Teacher (Primary) position.

In a defining ruling, the Uttarakhand High Court has made it clear that reservation benefits not claimed during the selection process cannot be contested post-appointment. The ruling came after Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari dismissed a petition challenging an Assistant Teacher (Primary) selection process.

The petition was filed when the petitioner, who participated in the recruitment, noticed that a candidate in Champawat district secured the position despite obtaining lower marks. The petitioner sought to annul the selection list and favor his appointment based on merit.

The court sided with the state's argument that the selected candidate had legitimately claimed the benefit of the Statehood Activists Scheme, ensuring a 10% horizontal reservation in state services for Uttarakhand statehood activists. As the petitioner hadn't claimed such benefits at the selection stage, his merit comparison against the general category was deemed irrelevant.

(With inputs from agencies.)