Authority: High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital

Order Date: 12 June 2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioner: Rajendra Singh, a candidate with benchmark disability (Low Vision/Partially Blind), applied for Veterinary Officer (Grade‑II) through the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UPSC) selection advertised on 12‑Oct‑2023.
  • Two vacancies were reserved for persons with disabilities; the UPSC issued a cut‑off/records verification list on 10‑Apr‑2024 without a specific cut‑off mark for the physically handicapped category.
  • Singh scored 22.125 % and was not listed among successful candidates. He filed a writ petition seeking (A) certiorari to quash the cut‑off list, (B) mandamus directing the respondents to fix cut‑off marks for the Low Vision/Partially Blind category, and (C) mandamus to consider his candidature.
  • The petitioner argued that a notification dated 11‑Mar‑2024 amended the “Uttarakhand Public Service Commission Preparation of Result Procedure Regulations, 2022” to set a uniform 30 % cut‑off for all persons with disabilities, lower than the earlier category‑specific marks (45 % for General, 40 % for OBC/EWS, 35 % for SC/ST).
  • The Court examined the original 2022 regulations, which required persons with disabilities to meet the same cut‑off as able‑bodied candidates of their respective categories. The 4th amendment (11‑Mar‑2024) indeed reduced the disability cut‑off to 30 % across all categories.
  • The Court held that the amendment could not be applied to a selection process already underway and that the petitioner’s score of 22.125 % was below both the original 45 % threshold for the General category and the amended 30 % threshold for disabilities.

Final Outcome

The writ petition is dismissed for lack of merit, and the pending application is disposed of.

Topics: Disability Reservation, Public Service Recruitment