CAT Directs DSSSB to Appoint Candidate Wrongly Omitted Due to Email Error (Anjana Kumari)

In a significant judgment restoring faith in procedural fairness, the Central Administrative Tribunal (Principal Bench) has directed the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) and the Directorate of Education, GNCTD, to appoint Ms. Anjana Kumari as a Special Education Teacher after her selection was wrongly overlooked due to a typographical error in her email address.

Anjana Kumari, who secured 89.5 marks in the DSSSB exam—well above the 80-mark cutoff for the unreserved category—was denied appointment solely because she could not upload her e-dossier within the stipulated period in 2018. She later discovered, through an RTI, that her result had never been published online nor communicated to her via SMS or email, as required under DSSSB's own guidelines.

The Tribunal, comprising Hon’ble Dr. Sumeet Jerath (Administrative Member) and Hon’ble Ms. Harvinder Kaur Oberoi (Judicial Member), noted that the email sent by DSSSB was incorrectly addressed to a.kumari09@gmai.com instead of gmail.com, making it clear that the candidate was never notified of her result.

Terming the lapse “a question of employment and livelihood,” the Tribunal dismissed DSSSB's contention that such mistakes are inevitable due to the scale of recruitment. The Tribunal cited precedents including DSSSB vs. Mohan Lal Chhedwal (Delhi HC, 2024) and held that such administrative errors cannot be allowed to cost deserving candidates their careers.

Allowing the OA (Original Application), the Tribunal directed DSSSB to accept Anjana Kumari’s e-dossier in hard copy and the Directorate of Education to consider her appointment either against existing vacancies or by creating a supernumerary post. While the order grants all notional benefits including seniority and pay fixation, no arrears will be paid for the past period due to the “No Work, No Pay” principle.

The Tribunal has directed compliance within three months of receiving the certified order.

[Anjana Kumari Vs. GNCTD & Ors., OA No. 2906/2019, CAT, Delhi, DOD – 26.05.2025]

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