$~100 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 10297/2026 & CM APPL. 47617/2026 MANISH TANDON & ANR. .....Petitioners Through: Petitioner no. 1 in person versus UNION OF INDIA & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Nemo CORAM: HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE SWARANA KANTA SHARMA O R D E R % 27.07.2026 CM APPL. 47618/2026 (exemption) 1. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions. 2. Application stands disposed of. W.P.(C) 10297/2026 & CM APPL. 47617/2026 3. By way of the present petition, the petitioners seek following prayers: “A. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari, thereby quashing and setting aside the impugned communication/letter dated 07.03.2025 issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs (Notary Cell), Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi AND B. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction declaring that the Petitioners' online applications dated 27.05.2021, acknowledged on 27.05.2021, were valid applications seeking appointment as Notaries for the National Capital Territory of Delhi and that the Respondents acted illegally in treating the Petitioners' candidature as one pertaining to the State of Haryana and in the similar manner the same relief may be provided to the petitioner no.2 AND C. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 15:25:58 Mandamus directing the Respondents to treat the Petitioners' candidature as one for appointment as Notaries for the National Capital Territory of Delhi in accordance with the online applications dated 27.05.2021, the interview held on 29.09.2023, and the Notice dated 15.03.2024 and in the similar manner the same relief may be provided to the petitioner no.2 AND D. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondents to ignore the requirement of obtaining a No Objection Certificate from the Bar Council of Haryana and to treat the No Objection Certificate dated 18.03.2024 issued by the Bar Council of Delhi as sufficient compliance with the applicable requirements, if otherwise found in accordance with law and in the similar manner the same relief may be provided to the petitioner no.2 AND E. In the event this Hon'ble Court finds that all statutory requirements already stand satisfied and that no further factual enquiry is necessary, issue an appropriate writ of Mandamus directing the Respondents to issue the formal order appointing the Petitioners as Notaries for the National Capital Territory of Delhi under Section 3 of the Notaries Act, 1952 AND F. Declare that the petitioners candidature pursuant to the notice dated 15/03/2024 shall be treated as Candidature for the National Territory of Delhi, interms of the Online application dated 27/05/2021 of petitioner no.1 and application dated 19/08/2021 of the petitioner no.2. F. Award costs of the present proceedings in favour of the Petitioners and against the Respondents...” 4. No one appeared on behalf of the respondents, when the matter was taken up for hearing. 5. The case set out by the petitioners, who are practising Advocates in Delhi, is that they had applied online on 27.05.2021 for appointment as Notaries for the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. According to the petitioners, their applications remained under process for over two years. It is stated that petitioner no. 1 was interviewed on 29.09.2023 and that the petitioners were thereafter provisionally selected vide public notice dated 15.03.2024. The petitioners submit that they have complied with all the This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 15:25:58 prescribed requirements, including payment of the requisite fee and submission of No Objection Certificates issued by the Bar Council of Delhi, as required by the respondents. It is further submitted that even thereafter, the respondents continued to process their candidature and, vide communication dated 07.02.2025, required the provisionally selected candidates to upload the requisite documents on the Notary Portal without raising any objection regarding the petitioners' residential addresses or requiring a No Objection Certificate from the Bar Council of Haryana. However, subsequently, vide the impugned communication dated 07.03.2025, the petitioners were directed to obtain fresh No Objection Certificates from the Bar Council of Haryana solely on the ground that their residential addresses are situated in the State of Haryana, despite the fact that their applications were specifically made for appointment as Notaries in the NCT of Delhi. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioners submitted a representation dated 14.10.2025 challenging the aforesaid requirement, which, according to them, remains pending consideration. 6. Considering that the petitioners’ representation dated 14.10.2025 has remained undecided, despite their provisional selection, this Court deems it appropriate to direct the respondents to consider and decide the said representation, as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of three weeks from date. The decision so taken shall be communicated to the petitioners forthwith. 7. The petitioners shall be at liberty to approach this Court again, if they remain aggrieved by the decision taken on the representation. 8. In above terms, the present petition, along with pending application, stands disposed of. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 15:25:58 9. The order be uploaded on the website forthwith. DR. SWARANA KANTA SHARMA, J JULY 27, 2026/ns TD This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 15:25:58