Allahabad HC orders UPPSC to accept delayed application over postal delay, consider candidate for recruitment

The Allahabad High Court (HC) has ruled that candidates cannot be disqualified from a recruitment process just because their hard-copy application reached the recruiting authority after the deadline, provided they were dispatched before the cut-off date. Due to postal service delays, the applications had arrived late.

According to Press Trust of India (PTI) reports, the court, after hearing a petition filed by a candidate for recruitment, has asked the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) to accept the candidate’s application by October 16, 2026, and retain her candidature for recruitment to posts under the state’s Medical Education Department.

In its latest judgment, Manju Rani Chauhan, High Court Justice, has observed that a delay in postal delivery is beyond a candidate’s control and cannot be a valid reason to reject an application when the candidate has followed the prescribed requirements.

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Allahabad High Court on UPPSC recruitment application

The UPPSC issued a recruitment advertisement on August 18 for posts in the Uttar Pradesh Medical Education Department. Candidates had to submit their online applications and pay the required fee by September 1, 2026. The printed application form, along with supporting documents, had to reach the Commission by 5 pm on September 15. Applications could be sent by registered post, speed post or in person.

According to PTI, the petitioner completed the online application process and paid the fee on August 31. She dispatched the hard copy by registered post on September 8, but it reached the Commission’s office in Allahabad on September 16, a day after the deadline. The Commission had refused to accept it and returned the application.

PTI reports that "The recruiting authority, having itself prescribed and sanctioned transmission through registered post/ speed post, cannot in the same breath disown the consequences of that very mode of transmission and visit an otherwise diligent candidate with the drastic civil consequence of exclusion from the selection process," the Allahabad HC said. The candidate later approached the Commission dated September 30 but received no response, following which she moved the High Court.

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Court says candidate cannot be penalised for postal delay

During the hearing, the UPPSC argued that applications received after the prescribed deadline could not be accepted. The petitioner, however, relied on postal tracking records to establish that she had dispatched the documents on time. She also submitted records that postal authorities had informed her of the closure of offices in New Delhi from September 11 to 13 due to the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit.

The court found that the tracking records showed timely dispatch and there was no evidence of negligence by the petitioner. It held that an authority allowing applications through registered or speed post could not penalise a candidate for a delivery delay beyond their control, PTI reported.