Nitu Poonia v. Union Of India And ORS
$~69 *
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 1741/2025, CM APPL.
8386/2025 & CM APPL.
8387/2025 NITU POONIA .....Petitioner Through:
Mr. Sourabh Ahuja, Advocate.
versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS .....Respondent Through:
Ms. Arti Bansal, SPC and Mr.
Gopesh Jindal, Advocate for UOI.
Mr. Amartya Ashish Sharan and Mr.Akash Kishore, Advocates for NESTS.
Ms. Anamika Ghai Niyazi, Ms.
Kirti Bhardwaj, Ms. Nehmat Sethi and Mr. Arquam Ali, Advocates for CBSE.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN
O R D E R
% 12.02.2025 1.
The petitioner applied for appointment as a Trained Graduate Teacher ["TGT"] - (Social Studies) pursuant to an advertisement issued by respondent No. 2 - National Education Society for Tribal Students ["NESTS"] dated 19.07.2023. She was provisionally selected for the course and called for document verification. She is aggrieved by a communication dated 24.06.2024, by which NESTS decided that she was ineligible as she did not possess the required educational qualification for the post.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
2.
The educational qualifications required for the post of TGT (Social Studies) are enumerated in Chapter 4 of the advertisement [at pages Nos. 43 and 44 of the writ petition].
3.
Mr. Sourabh Ahuja, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the petitioner had undertaken a four-year Integrated Professional Degree Programme of Elementary Teacher Education from University of Delhi, Bachelor of Education from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Master of Arts in Political Science from University of Delhi. She has also qualified in the Central Teacher Eligibility Test. The petitioner has listed the courses studied [at page No. 12 of the writ petition], which according to her satisfy the conditions for eligibility. 4.
By a communication dated 05.07.2024, NESTS gave the petitioner a final opportunity to establish her eligibility, for which purpose she was called to the Office of NESTS on 09.07.2024. Mr. Ahuja states that she attended the Office of NESTS on the said date, and submitted the material in support of her candidature.
5.
Similar grievances raised by other candidates, with regard to assessment of their educational qualifications by NESTS pursuant to the same advertisement, have been dealt with by this Court in Ankit Kumar Yadav v. National Education Society for Tribal Students & Anr. [W.P.(C) 13463/2024, dated 25.09.2024] and Pooja Lodhi v. Union Of India & Ors. [W.P.(C) 838/2025 dated 22.01.2024]. Those petitions were disposed of on the basis of statements made by learned counsel for NESTS that the contentions of the candidates in the writ petitions would be taken into account, and a final decision would be taken by NESTS within an agreed time frame.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
6.
Mr. Amartya Ashish Sharan, learned counsel for NESTS, submits that the present case may also be disposed of in similar terms. Mr. Ahuja is also agreeable to this course of action.
7.
The writ petition is disposed of with the direction that NESTS will treat the writ petition as a representation. If the petitioner wishes to submit any further documents for consideration by NESTS, she may do so within a period of three days from today. NESTS will consider the said representation and documents, and pass a final order within four weeks thereafter.
8.
In the event the petitioner is found to be qualified, she will be issued a letter of appointment expeditiously. 9.
The Court has not adjudicated upon the rights and contentions of the parties on merits. The rights and remedies of the parties remain reserved.
10.
The writ petition, alongwith the pending applications, is disposed of in the aforesaid directions.
PRATEEK JALAN, J FEBRUARY 12, 2025 SS/AD/ The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.