Reservation policy in PSU recruitment

Dear Client,
Regardless of the sector or character of establishments either public or private, the recruitment of manpower is processed following its standing recruitment policy and recruitment of manpower is also a prerogative of the establishment. Any complaint or allegation over malpractice or unfair practice in the recruitment of manpower against an establishment shall not be entertained by a Court unless the alleged malpractice or unfairness in recruitment policy and practice appears on the face of the record. So, it is a very difficult and cumbersome exercise to prove such an allegation before the court. Be informed that recruitment, promotion, upgradation etc. are the prerogatives of the management/establishment strictly followed on the basis of an established recruitment and promotion policy. Only in case of deviation/discrimination/mala fide in the policy or rules, if it appears on the face of the record, the High Court may entertain an appeal/petition challenging the recruitment rules violating the well-established policy of the organization. Otherwise, a petition may be rejected at the stage of admission by the High Court for lack of merit. You may seek the authentic information with regard to your queries from the Public Authority by filing an application under the RTI Act, 2005 to prove and justify your grievance against the authority.

Dear Client,

Your question relates to the allocation and upgradation process in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) that recruit through GATE scores and whether candidates from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category should be upgraded to the Unreserved (UR) category when the UR cutoff drops.

EWS candidates are eligible to compete both in their reserved category (EWS) and in the unreserved (UR) category, provided they meet the UR cutoff.
In your case, the EWS cutoff was 720, while the UR cutoff started at 800 in the first phase and then gradually dropped to 780 and later to 690 in subsequent phases.
Upgradation of EWS Candidates:

When the UR cutoff decreases, candidates from the EWS category who have scores above the new UR cutoff should be eligible for selection under the UR category, if seats are available.
Once an EWS candidate is upgraded to UR (based on merit), the seat they vacate in the EWS category should become available for the next eligible EWS candidate (if there are enough EWS candidates with scores above the EWS cutoff).

There may be administrative reasons or specific PSU recruitment rules that restrict such upgradation, even though it is often the norm in many cases.
If no EWS candidate was upgraded to the UR category when the UR cutoff dropped (from 800 to 780 and later 690), there may be one of the following reasons:
Reservation Policy: Some PSUs may have rigid policies that do not allow EWS candidates to be moved to the UR category once they have been selected in the reserved category, even if the UR cutoff drops later.
Administrative Delays: The PSU might have missed the opportunity to reallocate the EWS candidates due to procedural delays or oversight.
Rules of the Recruitment Process: It’s possible that in the specific recruitment process you’re referring to, the PSU has rules that do not allow such category upgradation after a certain phase.
What Should Have Happened (Based on Common Practice):

Ideally, as the UR cutoff drops, EWS candidates who meet or exceed the new UR cutoff should be upgraded to the UR category.
The vacated EWS seats should then be filled by the next eligible candidates in the EWS category. This would ensure fairness in selection and optimize the use of reserved seats.

What You Can Do is, you should consider reaching out to the recruitment cell of the PSU to seek clarification on their specific upgradation policy. You can inquire about why no EWS candidates were promoted to UR when the UR cutoff dropped in subsequent phases.

If you feel that the recruitment process has been unfair or against established norms, you can file a formal grievance through the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which oversees PSUs in India.
You can also escalate the matter through GATE authorities if the recruitment is tied directly to GATE scores.
If you believe there has been a violation of the reservation and recruitment policies, you can consider consulting a legal expert to assess the case and explore legal action, such as filing a writ petition in the High Court.

Regards