Page No.# 1/7 GAHC010002622025 2025:GAU-AS:17167 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case : WP(C)/619/2025 SRI JATINDRA BORO S/O- SRI PRABIN KUMAR BORO R/O- VILL- PUKHURI PARA P.O.- SIMILA TARABARI P.S.- BOKO DIST- KAMRUP ASSAM VERSUS INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED AND 2 ORS TO BE REPRESENTED BY ITS CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER GUWAHATI DIVISIONAL OFFICE 4TH FLOOR EAST POINT TOWER BAMUNIMAIDAM GUWAHATI PIN CODE -787021 ASSAM 2:THE DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER HUMAN RESOURCE INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED BONGAIGAON REFINERY DHALIGAON BONGAIGAON PIN-783385 ASSAM 3:CHIEF MANAGER (L AND D) BONGAIGAON REFINERY INDIAN OLL CORPORATION LIMITED Page No.# 2/7 DHALIGAON P.O- DHALIGAON PIN CODE-783385 DIST- BONGAIGAON ASSAM ------------ Advocate for : MR. ABUL KALAM AZAD Advocate for : MR. K N CHOUDHURY (R-2 3) appearing for INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED AND 2 ORS BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N. UNNI KRISHNAN NAIR ORDER Date : 10-12-2025 Heard Mr. D. Das, learned Sr. counsel assisted by Mr. K. Mohammad, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard K.N. Choudhury, learned Sr. counsel assisted by Ms. R.R. Kakati, learned counsel for all the respondents. 2. The petitioner by way of instituting the present proceeding has assailed the notification dated 16-12-2024, issued by the respondent authorities shortlisting the candidates for the Skill/ Proficiency/ Physical Test (SPPT) segment of the recruitment process and excluding the petitioner, therefrom. 3. The petitioner, herein, belongs to the Schedule Tribe community. In terms of the advertisement dated 20-07-2024, the petitioner being eligible for recruitment against the post of Junior Engineering Assistant-IV (Production) having post code number 201, had submitted his candidature for appointment against the post available in the Bongaigaon Refinery, more specifically, against the 02 (two) posts reserved for the Schedule Tribe community candidates in the said Refinery. The petitioner, thereafter, was required to appear in the Computer Based Test segment of the selection process. The petitioner, Page No.# 3/7 accordingly, appeared in the said selection process and secured 45 marks therein. The score card of the petitioner as uploaded in the website of the respondent No. 1/ IOCL reveals that the petitioner was not permitted to take part in the further stages of the recruitment process on the ground that he did not meet the age criteria, as prescribed in the advertisement, in question. The score card of the petitioner also reveals that the petitioner had scored 45 (forty five) marks while the cutoff marks for the Schedule Tribe community was 42 (forty two). The petitioner being aggrieved has instituted the present proceeding praying for the reliefs, as noticed, hereinabove. 4. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and also perused the materials available on record. 5. From the materials brought on record, the petitioner was held to be not meeting the upper age limit as set out in the advertisement dated 20-07-2024, on the ground that the caste certificate uploaded by the petitioner along with his application was found to be defective, inasmuch as, therein the sub-tribe of the petitioner was not mentioned. The petitioner, now not being considered as a member belonging to the Schedule Tribe community, he having attained the age of 29 years, he was found to be over-aged for being extended with such consideration as a General Community candidate. The advertisement had mandated that for consideration as a unreserved category candidate, the candidate must be between 18 to 27 years as on 31-07-2024. However, the petitioner had crossed the upper age limit and was 29 years. Although the relaxation in the upper age limit up-to 05 (five) years was mandated to be extended to Schedule Caste/ Schedule Page No.# 4/7 Tribe community candidates, the said relaxation was not extended to the petitioner, herein, on the ground that the caste certificate uploaded by the petitioner along with his application was found to be defective. 6. Mr. D. Das, learned Sr. counsel for the petitioner, has submitted that the Caste Certificate as relied upon by the petitioner in the recruitment process having without any ambiguity demonstrated that the petitioner belongs to the Schedule Tribe community and he having scored more marks than the cutoff marks worked out for Computer Based Test segment, there was no occasion for the IOCL authorities to deny consideration of the case of the petitioner in the further segments of the selection process. 7. Mr. K.N. Choudhury, learned Sr. counsel for the respondent/ IOCL by placing on record the marks scored by the candidates in the Computer Based Test has contended that the petitioner, amongst the Schedule Tribe candidates was placed at 7th position securing 45 (forty five) marks. He has submitted that even if the petitioner is now held to be entitled to be extended with the relaxation of the upper age limit up-to the maximum limit of 05 (five) years by construing him to be a candidate belonging to the Schedule Tribe community and he is subjected to the SPPT and qualifies therein, still the petitioner would not be eligible to be appointed, inasmuch as, there are 06 (six) other candidates securing more marks than the petitioner belonging to the Schedule Tribe community available in the fray. He submits that the SPPT is an examination of qualifying nature and the appointments are to be so effected basing on the marks scored by the candidates in the Computer Based Test. Page No.# 5/7 8. This Court has considered the said submission made by the learned Sr. counsel appearing for the parties. The selection methodology as set out in the advertisement being relevant is extracted here-in-below: “Selection Methodology: 1. The selection methodology will comprise Computer Based Test (CBT) and a Skill/Proficiency/Physical Test (SPPT). The SPPT will be of qualifying nature. 2. Computer Based Test (CBT): The Computer based test will consist of one objective type paper containing 100 questions carrying 1 marks each and the time allotted for completing the CBT is 120 minutes. CIFT for a discipline may be conducted in one/two/three sessions in a single day. In case the CBT is conducted in more than one session for the same post, the process of "Score Normalisation" shall be adopted as per details mentioned at Annexure-II below.” A perusal of the said selection methodology would reveal that the recruitment is to consist of 02 (two) components, (a) Computer Based Test and (b) Skill/ Proficiency/ Physical Test (SPPT). The SPPT is stipulated to be of a qualifying nature. 9. The respondent have demonstrated that the petitioner with the marks scored by him, i.e. 45 (forty five) in the Computer Based Test, even if construed to be a Schedule Tribe candidate in the recruitment process, he would be placed at Sl. No. 7 amongst the Schedule Tribe candidates. Accordingly, given the methodology followed in the recruitment exercise for selection of candidates, the petitioner admittedly having scored only 45 marks in his Computer Based Test and there being 06 (six) other candidates belonging to the Schedule Tribe community scoring more marks than the petitioner in the Computer Based Test, this Court is of the considered view that even if the petitioner is now directed to be allowed to participate in the SPPT by construing him to be a candidate belonging to the Schedule Tribe community, the same would be a futile exercise, Page No.# 6/7 inasmuch as, even if the petitioner is found to have qualified in the SPPT segment of the selection process there being only 02 (two) posts of Junior Engineering Assistant-IV (Production) reserved for the Schedule Tribe candidates in Bongaigaon Refinery, the petitioner, herein, would not be entitled to be appointed against any of the said posts. This Court reiterates that as per the selection methodology prescribed for the recruitment, in question, after the Computer Based Test, there being no further marking made and the marks scored in the Computer Based Test by the candidates being the sole basis for determining their placement in the select list, a direction for further consideration of the case of the petitioner in the recruitment process would be of no consequence and the petitioner under no circumstances can come within the merit position mandated for being considered for appointment against the 02 (two) posts of Junior Engineering Assistant-IV (Production) put up for recruitment against Bongaigaon Refinery. 10. This Court having concluded that the petitioner on account of the marks scored by him in the Computer Based Test, would not come within the merit position for appointment against the post of Junior Engineering Assistant-IV (Production) available at Bongaigaon Refinery, even if considered as a Schedule Tribe community candidate, the dispute raised by the respondent No. 1/ IOCL with regard to the Caste Certificate uploaded by the petitioner is not being examined and the same is left open for consideration, in future if the same again so arises for consideration. 11. In view of the above discussions, this Court is of the considered view that the case of the petitioner would not be mandated to be directed to be considered further in the recruitment exercise. Accordingly, the interim direction passed by this Court vide order Page No.# 7/7 dated 07-02-2025 stands vacated. 12. The respondents are at liberty to take the process to its logical conclusion in accordance with law. 13. With the above observation and directions, the present writ petition stands disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant