The Supreme Court of India on 10 April 2026 dismissed a batch of appeals filed by candidates who sought recruitment as Health Workers (Female) under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota in Uttar Pradesh. The Court held that the income and asset certificates submitted by the candidates did not comply with the requirements of the recruitment notification.
Background of the Case
The appeals arose from recruitment initiated by the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission for 9,212 posts of Health Worker (Female), including 921 reserved for EWS candidates. The advertisement was issued on 15 December 2021, with 5 January 2022 as the last date for application.
Under the rules, EWS applicants were required to upload a valid Income and Assets Certificate issued in the prescribed format, reflecting financial status for the financial year 2020–2021. Several candidates, including Poonam Dwivedi and others, submitted certificates issued before March 2021 or referring to the wrong financial year.
The candidates cleared the written examination but were excluded from the final select list. They challenged the rejection before the Allahabad High Court. A Single Judge initially granted them relief, directing authorities to re-issue corrected certificates. However, the High Court’s Division Bench overturned that decision, holding that the certificates were invalid under the recruitment terms.
Hearing the matter, a bench comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Prasanna B. Varale noted that the recruitment notification clearly required an EWS certificate relating to the financial year 2020–2021 and issued before the cut-off date.
The bench observed that several certificates were issued in January or February 2021 before the close of the relevant financial year while others related to incorrect financial years such as 2019–2020 or 2021–2022.
“The certificates relied upon by the appellants were not in respect of the financial year prior to the year of application,” the bench noted, adding that such defects go to the root of eligibility.
The Court also clarified that candidates cannot claim benefit of a category based on a document that does not conform to the prescribed format or timeline. It relied on earlier rulings that eligibility must be established strictly in accordance with the terms of recruitment.
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Division Bench of the High Court and dismissed the appeals. It ruled that the candidates did not possess valid EWS certificates as required under the advertisement and relevant rules. The Court refused to interfere with the recruitment process and disposed of all pending applications without costs.
Case Title: Poonam Dwivedi & Ors. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.
