In Brief
The Supreme Court held that a candidate belonging to a reserved category (OBC/SC/ST) cannot be disqualified merely for submitting the required certificate after the cut-off date in a recruitment advertisement, provided the certificate is submitted before the provisional selection list is published. The Court reasoned that caste status exists by birth and the certificate only affirms this pre-existing fact. Interpreting the constitutional purpose of reservation—to achieve equal opportunity—purposively rather than mechanically, the Court set aside the High Court's Division Bench order and allowed the appeals, directing respondents to accept the certificates and reconsider the candidates' eligibility."
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