HTET Certificate Delay Beyond Candidate’s Control Cannot Defeat Appointment Claim: Punjab and Haryana High Court

Case Name: Anju v. State of Haryana and others

Date of Judgment: 07 July 2026

Citation: CWP-2191-2019

Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya

Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court held that a candidate’s claim for consideration cannot be rejected merely because the HTET certificate was received after the first interview date, particularly when the candidate had already qualified HTET, the certificate was delayed due to postal reasons, and the recruitment process itself continued subsequently.

Summary: The petitioner applied for the post of TGT Physical Education pursuant to Advertisement No. 03/2015 issued by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission. She cleared the written examination but could not appear for scrutiny/interview as her HTET certificate, though issued on 13.09.2018, was delivered to her only on 26.12.2018, after the interview held on 24.12.2018.

The petitioner had already informed the Commission about the non-receipt of the certificate and later submitted it immediately after receiving it. During the pendency of the writ petition, she was provisionally interviewed under orders of the Court and secured 73 marks in total.

The respondents argued that she was not eligible as she had not produced the HTET certificate by the date of interview and had failed to appear for scrutiny. The Court rejected these objections, observing that the selection process continued even after the initial result and further candidates were recommended later. Therefore, the condition could not be applied rigidly against the petitioner, especially when she had obtained the qualification and the delay was not attributable to her.

Decision: The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the respondents to consider the petitioner’s candidature by placing her appropriately in the waiting list, as per merit, on the strength of her interview marks.