2026 INSC 351 Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 1 of 19)

NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL No. of 2026

(@ SLP (C) No.4001-4002 of 2023)

POONAM DWIVEDI & ORS. …PETITIONER(S)

VERSUS

STATE OF U.P. & ORS. …RESPONDENT (S)

WITH

CIVIL APPEAL No. of 2026

(@ SLP (C) No.20256 of 2023

WITH

CIVIL APPEAL No. of 2026

(@ SLP (C) No.22042-22043 of 2023)

J U D G M E N T

MANOJ MISRA, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. These appeals impugn a common judgment and

order of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad,

Lucknow Bench, Lucknow

1 dated 09.01.2023 in Special

Appeal Nos. 464, 465, 466 and 467 of 2022 preferred

1

High Court

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 2 of 19)

against an order of Single Judge of the High Court dated

19.10.2022 in Writ A No. 5392 of 2022 (Poonam Dwivedi

v. State of U.P. and others); Writ A No.6974 of 2022 (Divya

Awasthi v. State of U.P. and others); Writ A No. 6911 of

2022 (Archana Saxena v. State of U.P. and others); Writ A

No. 5264 of 2022 (Komal v. State of U.P. and others) and

Writ A No. 6357 of 2022 (Shanu Tiwari v. State of U.P. and

others).

3. On 15.12.2021, the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate

Service Selection Commission

2 issued an advertisement

inviting applications for filling up 9212 posts of Health

Workers (Female). Ten per cent posts i.e., 921 posts were

reserved for EWS

3 Category. Last date for submitting the

application was 05.01.2022.

4. Pursuant to the invite, the appellants applied

under the EWS category for appointment to the post of

Health Worker (Female).

5. Clause 8.3 of the advertisement provided:

“The candidates seeking reservation/relaxation in

age limit, will have to submit a caste certificate/

reservation certificate, which has been issued till the

last date of application or last date of advertisement

in prescribed proforma printed in the appendix of

2

Commission

3

Economically Weaker Section.

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 3 of 19)

detailed advertisement and available on the website

issued by the competent officer in support of

reservation category and they should produce the

said certificate before the Commission when

required.”

6. The prescribed form in which the certificate had to

be submitted by a candidate for securing reservation in

EWS category is as follows:

Form-I

Government of Uttar Pradesh

Name of office:

Certificate with regard to income and assets to be

submitted by the member of the Economically Weaker

Section

Certificate No. Date:

Valid for the financial year……..

It is certified that Shri/Smt/Kumari…..

Son/Wife/Daugher of …………. is a permanent Resident

of Village/Kasba………, Post Office……. Police Station

………. Tehsil………. District……….. State, Pin

Code…………. whose attested photograph given below,

is a member of economically weaker section because the

total income of his family is below Rs. 8,00,000/ -

(Rupees eight lakh) in the financial year…… Any of the

following properties are not in the ownership of his

family.

(i). More than 5 (five) acre cultivable agricultural

land)

(ii). Plot or one thousand square feet or more than

area;

(iii). Residential plot or more than 100 square yards

within the notified municipality.

2. Shri/Smt./Kumari is a member of ……. caste,

which is not notified in Scheduled Caste, Scheduled

Tribe and any other backward class.

Attested passport size photo of the applicant.

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 4 of 19)

Signature (With office seal)

Full Name:

Designation:

District

Magistrate/Additional

District Magistrate/City

Magistrate/Pargana

Magistrate/Tehsildar”

7. Thus, the following dates are crucial, that is, the

date of advertisement, which is, 15.12.2021; and the last

date of submission of application, which is, 05.01.2022.

Taking into consideration the terms of the advertisement

and those dates, an EWS certificate must:

(a) relate to financial year i.e., 2020 – 2021

(because prior to 05.01.2022, the preceding

financial year was 2020-2021, i.e., 01.04.2020 to

31.03.2021);

(b) be dated in between 01.04.2021 and

05.01.2022 (because a certificate prior to

01.04.2021 would not relate to the financial year

ending 31

st March 2021 and since the certificate

had to be obtained by the last date of submission

of application, it cannot be later than 05.01.2022).

8. The details of certificates submitted by appellants

Poonam Dwivedi; Sunita Kumari; Shanu Tiwari and

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 5 of 19)

Komal, who are petitioners 1, 2, 4 and 5 in SLP (C) No.

4000-4001 of 2023; Archana Saxena, who is petitioner in

SLP (C) No. 20256 of 2023; and Anuradha Srivastava, who

is petitioner in SLP (C) Petition No. 22042-22043 of 2023

are as under:

(1) Poonam Dwivedi

Certificate is dated 12.01.2021. It states that

gross annual income of her family is less than Rs.

8 lacs for the Financial Year 2020-21 and that her

family does not own any of the following assets

during financial year 2020-2021:

(a) Agricultural property above 5 Acres;

(b) Flat measuring 1000 sq. ft. or above;

(c) Plot measuring 100 sq. yards or more in

Municipal Council;

(d) Residential flat of 200 sq. yards and above

in areas other than the notified

municipalities.

The certificate discloses that it is valid for the

financial year 2020-21.

(2) Shanu Tiwari

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 6 of 19)

Certificate is dated 21.01.2021 and it states that

gross annual income of her family is below Rs. 8

lacs for the financial year 2019-20, and the

certificate is valid for the year 2020-2021.

Thereafter, the certificate goes on to recite that

she does not own or possess any of the above

specified assets.

(3) Sunita Kumari

Certificate is dated 10.01.2022. It states that the

gross annual income of her family during the

financial year 2021-2022 is less than Rs. 8 lacs.

Thereafter, it goes on to recite that she and her

family do not own any of the above specified

assets.

(4) Komal

Certificate is dated 06.01.2021. Validity period of

the certificate is not mentioned.

(5) Anuradha Srivastava

Certificate is dated 05.01.2021 and it states that

gross annual income of her family is below Rs. 8

lacs for the financial year 2020-21. Thereafter,

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 7 of 19)

the certificate goes on to recite that her family

does not own or possess any of the above specified

assets.

(6) Archana Saxena

Certificate is dated 05.02.2021. It states that it is

valid for the financial year 2020-21. It also recites

that gross annual income of her family is below

Rs. 8 lacs for the financial year 2019-2020 and

that her family does not own or possess any of the

above specified assets.

(7) Divya Awasthi

Certificate is not on record. According to the

respondents she had not applied under EWS

category.

9. Based on those certificates, the appellants applied

under the EWS category and participated in the written

test held on 08.05.2022. Being successful in the written

test, they appeared for the next level examination.

However, their names did not figure in the select list

declared on 06.08.2022. Aggrieved therewith, they filed

writ petitions before the High Court claiming, inter-alia,

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 8 of 19)

that they had received marks higher than the last selected

candidate in the EWS category, and therefore, they ought

to have been placed in the merit list.

10. The respondents contested the writ petitions

claiming, inter-alia, that for availing the benefit of EWS

category, candidates were required to submit certificate(s)

in the requisite format disclosing their financial status in

the financial year prior to the year in which they applied

for selection. However, as the appellants’ certificate(s) were

not in order, they were not considered in the EWS category

and as their marks were lower than the last selected

candidate in the unreserved (general) category, they were

not placed in the select list.

11. Before the writ court, on behalf of the writ

petitioners (i.e., the appellants herein), it was submitted

that the EWS certificate is issued by agencies of the State,

in terms of the Government notification dated 14

th March

2019, therefore, if it carries mistakes, the candidates

cannot be deprived of the benefit of reservation, more so

when they have been able to establish their eligibility as a

candidate belonging to the EWS category. Moreover,

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 9 of 19)

confusion was created by different descriptions of the year

of which the income-certificate had to be obtained. In O.M.

dated 17.01.2019 of the Central Government, the year is

described as “financial year prior to the year of application”

and in Government Order dated 18.02.2019 of the State

of U.P. it is described as “year prior to the year of applying

for reservation.” Consequently, if there is any error in the

certificate, the fault lies squarely on the State, for which

the candidature of the appellants must not suffer.

12. Upon consideration of the aforesaid submissions,

the writ court i.e., the learned Single Judge of the High

Court, in its judgment dated 19.10.2022, observed as

follows:

“11. Learned counsels for the parties agree on the

aspect, which is that confusion has occurred because

of different provision made in the advertisement as

well as in the specimen certificate. The word "financial

year" is not used in the advertisement but the same

finds mention in the specimen certificate appended

along with the advertisement. Sri Gaurav Mehrotra,

learned counsel for the Commission stated that

certificate should have been issued for the financial

year 2020-2021 and relevant documents pertaining

to the financial year 2020-2021 and it should be valid

for 2020-21, for it to be accepted by the Commission.

12. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused

the record.

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 10 of 19)

13. It is seen that petitioners have approached this

Court with common prayer that EWS certificate

submitted by them along with their application form

was rejected by the Commission on the ground that

same was not filled up correctly with regard to the

annual income of the candidate and his/her family in

the financial year. The competent authority wrongly

filled up the income as well as year in the certificates

issued by him.

14. It is needless to say that guidelines have been

issued by the State Government relying upon the

Office Memorandum issued by the Government of

India but the advertisement itself was vague to the

extent that where term "financial year" was not used,

The Government Order dated 18.02.2019 had used

terminology of "year prior to the year of filling up the

application form" was provided for filling up the

income column.

15. It is on account of aforesaid confusion that the

authorities had also issued incorrect certificates.

16. It has also been informed by learned Standing

Counsel on the basis of instructions received that till

date appointment letters have not been issued to the

selected candidates.

17. In the light of above, the matter requires

interference. Considering the fact that the petitioners

had qualified in the main written examination and

only because of the discrepancy in their EWS

certificate submitted by them which were incorrectly

filled up by the competent authority, their

candidature has not been considered and hence

appointment letters have not been issued to them.”

13. After observing as above, the learned Single Judge

ordered thus:

“18. In view of above, it is directed that the concerned

Tehsildar who is the competent authority and who has

issued EWS certificates to the petitioners shall issue

fresh certificate correctly indicating the income of the

candidate and his/her family member s, the said

income certificate shall be issued for period 2021-22

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 11 of 19)

and documents pertaining to financial year 2020-2021

shall be issued by the competent authority.

19. Let aforesaid exercise be completed within a period

of two weeks from the date of production of certified

copy of this order before the competent authority and

fresh certificate shall be issued in the light of

observations made herein above and same sh all be

submitted to the U.P. Subordinate Service Selection

Commission, within one week thereafter on issuance

of the same. On receipt of such certificate(s) the

Commission shall proceed to consider candidature of

the petitioners on their merits before finalising the final

results/issuing appointment letters.

20. Before parting with the matter this Court is of the

considered view that the State Government should also

look into the matter and issue necessary clarification

with regard to the contents of EWS certificate and

instruct the competent authorities to fill up the same

legally and properly, as its incorrect issuance will

adversely impact innocent candidates, who rely on the

wisdom of the competent authority and presume that

the certificate issued is valid and correct and in

accordance with law.

21. In the light of above, the writ petitions are partly

allowed.”

14. Aggrieved by the judgment and order of the learned

Single Judge, four Special Appeals (i.e., intra-court

appeals) were filed before the Division Bench of the High

Court, which were allowed by the impugned order.

15. Before the Division Bench, it was argued that,

admittedly, date of the advertisement was 15.12.2021;

last date of submission of the application was 05.01.2022;

as per clause 8 of the advertisement, candidates were

required to furnish necessary documents including EWS

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 12 of 19)

certificate in the proforma prescribed for claiming the

benefit of reservation; the recruitment/ selection was

being done in the year 2022, therefore, EWS certificate,

which had to be of the previous year, ought to have been

relatable to the financial year 2020-2021 i.e., 01.04.2020

to 31.03.2021. It was contended that since the certificates

relied by the writ petitioners were obtained prior to closure

of financial year 2020-2021, they were not in respect of

financial year ending on 31.03.2021. Hence, those

certificates were not usable for seeking EWS reservation

under the advertisement.

16. Upon consideration of the aforesaid submissions

and the provisions of relevant Government Orders, the

Division Bench of the High Court found the certificates

invalid. The relevant paragraph of the impugned judgment

is extracted below:

“35. In the instant case, if the certificates are perused,

it would indicate that they have been issued in the

month of January, 2021 and February, 2021 as shall

be evident from the details mentioned hereinafter:-

(i) In case of Poonam Dwivedi, the certificate is dated

12.01.2021 and is valid for financial year 2020-21.

Hence, the certificates cannot be valid for 2020-21 as

the year had not been ended by then.

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 13 of 19)

(ii) In the case of Archana Saxena, the certificate dated

05.02.2021 and valid for financial year 2019 -20,

though, it was required to be filed for the financial year

2020-21, thus, this certificate is not valid.

(iii) In the case of Komal, the certificate is dated

06.01.2021 and is valid for financial year 2019. This

certificate also did not relate to the year 2020-21,

accordingly not valid.

(iv) In the case of Shanu Tiwari, the certificate is dated

21.01.2021 and valid for financial year 2019-20. This

certificate too did not relate to the financial year 2020-

21. Hence all the aforesaid certificates are not valid.”

17. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties

and have perused the materials on record.

18. The question that arises for our consideration is

whether the EWS certificate(s), details of which have been

provided above, could be considered valid for claiming the

benefit of EWS reservation for appointment to the post

concerned.

19. To appropriately decide the issue, it would be

useful to refer to the following dates: (i) the date of the

advertisement, which is 15.12.2021; (ii) the last date of

submission of application, which is 05.01.2022; and (iii)

the last date for amending the application, which is

12.01.2022.

20. Clause 8 of the advertisement deals with

reservation. Clause 8.3 (supra) specifically deals with

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 14 of 19)

reservation for the EWS category. It clearly provides that

candidates will have to submit a caste certificate/

reservation certificate, which has been issued till the last

date of application or last date of advertisement, in

prescribed proforma printed in the appendix. This would

indicate that the certificate must exist prior to the last date

of application or the last date of advertisement and should

conform to the prescribed proforma printed in the

appendix.

21. The appendix contains the form (i.e., Form-I) in

which the certificate is to be obtained. A close look at

Form-I, appended to the advertisement, would indicate

that the certificate would have to disclose the financial

year for which it is valid and must contain a statement

that the total income of the family is below Rs. 8 lacs in

the financial year concerned. Besides, it must disclose

whether assets specified therein are in ownership of the

family.

22. The UP Public Services (Reservation for

Economically Weaker Sections) Act, 2020 (for short, 2020

Act) was notified on 31.08.2020. Section 7 of the 2020 Act

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 15 of 19)

provides that “for the purpose of reservation provided

under this Act, income and assets certificate shall be issued

by such authority or officer not below the rank of Tehsildar

in the State and in such manner and in such form as the

State Government may, by order, provide. The office

memorandum no. 1/2019/4/1/2002/ka -2/19 T.C. II,

dated 18 February 2019 shall be deemed to have been

issued under this section”.

23. The Office Memorandum dated 18.02.2019, in

para 2, provides:

“2. Persons who are not covered under the existing

scheme of reservations for the Scheduled Castes, the

Scheduled Tribes and the Socially and Educationally

Backward Classes and whose family has gross annual

income below Rs. 8.00 identified as EWSS for the benefit

of reservation. Family for this purpose will include the

person who seeks benefit of reservation, his/her parents

and siblings below the age of 18 years as also his spouse

and children below the age of 18 years. The income shall

include income from all sources i.e. salary, agriculture,

business, profession etc., and it will be income for the

financial year prior to the year of application. Also,

persons whose family owns or possesses any of the

following assets shall be excluded from being identified

as EWSS, irrespective of the family income:

(i) 5 acres of Agricultural land and above;

(ii) Residential flat of 1000 sq. ft. and above;

(iii) Residential plot of 100 sq. yards and above in

notified municipalities; and

(iv) Residential plot of 200 sq. yards and above in

areas other than the notified municipalities.”

(Emphasis supplied)

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 16 of 19)

24. What is clear from above is that for availing

reservation under the EWS category, income for the

financial year prior to the year of application would be

considered. This position is reiterated in the

advertisement, which came after notification of the 2020

Act, wherein, in the appendix, the prescribed form in

which the income and assets certificate is to be obtained

is provided. There also, the certificate is to be in respect of

the financial year.

25. In such circumstances, if the certificate(s) relied

upon by the appellants were not in respect of the financial

year prior to the year of the application and were issued

prior to even closure of the relevant financial year, there

was an error apparent on the face of those certificates and,

therefore, in our view, the respondents were justified in

rejecting the claim of the appellants based on those

certificates.

26. The argument on behalf of the appellants that the

State should not have issued certificate(s) concerning

financial year which had not closed by the date of issuance

of those certificates is of no substance, because those

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 17 of 19)

certificates were obtained even before the date of

publication of the advertisement. Notably, the

advertisement was issued on 15.12.2021 whereas

certificate(s), except that of Sunita Kumari, were of

January and February 2021. Therefore, those candidates

could have applied for fresh certificates in terms of the

advertisement if their earlier certificates were not in

conformity with the advertisement. Insofar as Sunita

Kumari is concerned, though her certificate is dated

10.01.2022, it relates to Financial Year 2021-2022, when

it ought to have been in respect of Financial Year 2020-

2021. In UPSC v. Gaurav Singh & Ors.

4, this Court held

that when certificate is sought in respect of a particular

financial year, certificate of a different financial year goes

to the root of the eligibility of a candidate. In that light,

even the certificate of Sunita Kumari was invalid for

claiming the benefit of reservation. In such circumstances,

we do not find any good reason to interfere with the order

passed by the High Court.

4

(2024) 2 SCC 605

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 18 of 19)

27. Besides, in Divya v. Union of India and Others

5,

this Court has already held that for claiming reservation

under EWS category, Income and Asset Certificate of the

specified financial year in the prescribed form must be in

possession of the candidate on or before the cut-off date.

As, admittedly, the appellants did not possess the

necessary certificate in the prescribed form by the cut-off

date, no relief can be accorded to the appellants.

28. Before parting, we would like to observe that in

matters of public recruitment, where large number of

candidates participate, application forms are submitted

online along with the scanned eligibility documents,

certificates, etc. Such applications are processed through

computer applications/ software and therefore, any error

in the application is bound to result in rejection of the

candidature. Challenge to such a rejection must not

ordinarily be entertained as it could stall expeditious

completion of the recruitment process thereby frustrating

thousands and lacs of aspirants.

5

(2024) 1 SCC 448

Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 4001-4002/2023,

SLP(C) No. 20256/2023 & SLP(C) Nos. 22042-22043/2023 (Page 19 of 19)

29. For all the reasons above, the appeals lack merit

and are, accordingly, dismissed. Pending applications, if

any, shall stand disposed of. There is no order as to costs.

...............................J.

(Manoj Misra)

...............................J.

(Prasanna B. Varale)

New Delhi;

April 10, 2026