Delhi High Court rejects plea seeking age relaxation for EWS candidates in government jobs

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking relaxation in age and number of attempts for candidates from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in Central government jobs. 

A Division Bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan ruled that such decisions lie in the domain of policymaking by government and is not within the scope of courts.

“The Legislature being conscious of the plight of candidates belonging to the EWS category has introduced reservations. The additional relaxations sought by the Petitioners, however, entail multifaceted evaluations; ranging from administrative feasibility and financial implications to the potential impact on existing reservation frameworks. Such determinations are undisputedly legislative in character and lie within the purview of the Legislature and the Executive,” the Court held. 

The order was passed on a petition by several candidates from the EWS category challenging the government’s memorandum of January 31, 2019 by which EWS category students were placed at par with the candidates belonging to the general category on the issue of age and number of attempts. They also challenged subsequent clarifications and the Civil Services Examination 2024 notification.

The petitioners sought directions to allow relaxation in age and number of attempts at par with the Other Backward Classes (OBC). 

They contended that despite the introduction of a 10% EWS quota through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, the lack of ancillary benefits places them at a disadvantage compared to other reserved categories.

However, the Bench rejected the argument, emphasising the fundamental distinction between EWS and caste-based reservations. 

It noted that while SC, ST, and OBC categories address historical and structural social discrimination, EWS classification is based solely on economic disadvantage, which is considered more fluid and less enduring.

“Therefore, since it cannot be said that the handicaps faced by socially backward classes and economically deprived classes are the same, different ancillary concessions and relaxations ought to be provided to both the categories. The EWS category cannot claim automatic parity with SC/ST/OBC in ancillary considerations such as age relaxation or enhanced attempts,” the Court said. 

Advocates Shivendra Singh, Sagar Devgan, Prakriti Rastogi and Aryama Singh Rajput appeared for the petitioners. 

Advocates Ravinder Agarwal, Manish Kumar Singh, Vasu Agarwal and Lekh Raj Singh represented the UPSC. 

[Read Judgement]