CAT orders DSSSB to accept applications of 15 Assistant Teacher aspirants seeking age relaxation

New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) to provisionally accept the application forms of 15 aspirants seeking appointment as Assistant Teacher (Primary).

A Bench of Judicial Member Manish Garg and Administrative Member Dr Anand S. Khati passed the order while hearing a plea filed by applicants from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, who challenged an advertisement for the post of Assistant Teacher (Primary) in the Directorate of Education.

The applicants, represented by advocates Ashu Bidhuri, Swapnam Prakash Singh and Shabana Hussain, argued that the DSSSB had failed to grant the three-year age relaxation and sought quashing of the advertisement, demanding that their candidature be treated within the permissible age limit.

They also pressed for urgent interim relief, seeking acceptance of their application forms, since the examination is scheduled for March 2026, adding that their repeated representations to the authorities had elicited no response.

Relying on an earlier decision, where candidates in similar circumstances were allowed to submit forms despite an age-related objection, the CAT stressed that parity demanded a similar approach.

The DSSSB opposed the plea, contending that the candidates had approached the Tribunal only after the last date of submission and that granting such relief would "open a Pandora’s box".

Rejecting the objection, the CAT observed that no prejudice would be caused to the authorities if the candidates were permitted to participate provisionally, and directed the DSSSB to accept their application forms both online and offline.

"In view of the relief granted in O.A. No. 3884/2025 (Deepak & Ors. vs. DSSSB & Ors.), the present Original Application is disposed of at the admission stage in similar terms, particularly in light of paragraphs 16 to 19 of the aforesaid order. The representations of the applicants shall be considered and decided on a case-by-case basis," it said.

However, their candidature, the CAT clarified, would remain subject to fulfilment of eligibility conditions and the final outcome of the proceedings.

--IANS

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