Judgment 1. Writ petition has been .filed seeking the following reliefs:— (i) Certiorari quashing Office order No. 215 BOPEE of 2015 dated 26.06.2015 issued by respondent No.5 whereby the representation of the petitioner to consider the candidature of the petitioner under Resident of Backward Area (RBA) category in the admission process initiated by the respondents vide Notification No.02-BOPEE of 2015 dated 16.02.2015 for admission to various Professional Courses (MBBS / BDS / BAMS / BUMS / Physiotherapy / Diploma Dental Hygine / B.E.) was rejected. (ii) Mandamus commanding the respondents to consider the candidature of the petitioner under Resident of Backward Area (RBA) category in the admission process initiated by the respondents vide Notification No.02-BOPEE of 2015 dated 16.02.2015 for admission to various Professional Courses (MBBS / BDS / BAMS / BUMS / Physiotherapy / Diploma Dental Hygiene/B.E.) and to select the petitioner for admission in MBBS course in Government Medical College, Jammu. With a further prayer for issuance of any other appropriate writ, direction or order in favour of the petitioner and against the respondents as the Hon’ble Court deems fit and appropriate in the facts, circumstances and the nature of the case in the interests of the natural justice and fair play at the earliest please. 2. Brief facts of the case leading to the filing of the instant writ petition are that in response to admission Notification NO.02-BOPEE of 2015 dated 16.02.2015 - i.e. Annexure-C inviting online applications for admissions to various professional courses including MBBS, BDS, etc, the petitioner, claiming to be eligible on account of having passed 12th class examination in medical stream with requisite subjects(Annexure-D) besides belonging to the Socially and Educationally Backward Class and being resident of Backward area i.e. Thelay, Tehsil Ramnagar, District Udhampur on the basis of certificates Annexure’s-A & B dated 03.03.2010 and 02.06.2015 respectively, submitted online application No. 3BOP1520722 on 06.03.2015 for appearing in the Common Entrance Test through M/s National Education Consultancy Cyber Cafe while the requisite fee in respect thereto was deposited by the petitioner on 07.03.2015. 3. Petitioner claims that on account of online mode of submission of application forms having been introduced for the first time, most of the candidates were facing difficulty in filing online applications, resultantly, the respondents extended the last date for submission of online application forms from 11.03.2015 to 19.03.2015. 3. Petitioner claims that on account of online mode of submission of application forms having been introduced for the first time, most of the candidates were facing difficulty in filing online applications, resultantly, the respondents extended the last date for submission of online application forms from 11.03.2015 to 19.03.2015. Petitioner further claims that he mentioned being resident of Backward Area and belonging to RBA category in the online application form as also of his having submitted confirmation page generated from the BOPEE website to the respondents on 09.03.2015 along with copy of RBA certificate (Annexure-E) issued to him vide No.881-82/BCG dated 03.03.2010 and that at the time of submission of the aforementioned documents, the receipt clerk had pointed out to him that although the date of file number of his RBA Certificate was 08.12.2010, the date of issuance of RBA certificate was 03.03.2010. Petitioner further avers that the receipt clerk took his RBA certificate to respondent No.3 i.e. Secretary J&KBOPEE who in turn directed him to respondent No.2 i.e. Chairman, J&KBOPEE, who on the copy of the confirmation page submitted by him endorsed words ‘up to date’ besides directing him to get the dates thereon verified from the issuing authority. Petitioner claims that the Receipt Clerk kept confirmation page as well as RBA Certificate submitted by him and signed a copy of the RBA certificate in token of receipt. 4. The petitioner claims having sought information regarding dates on his RBA certificate from the office of the Tehsildar, Ramnagar and of being informed that the date of File number on his RBA certificate had been inadvertently written as 08.12.2010 instead of 08.12.2009 whereupon he apprised respondent No.2 about the said fact and also applied for renewal of RBA Certificate which was renewed and issued to him vide No.62-63/BCG dated 02.06.2015. It is the stand of the petitioner that although the Admit Card was issued to him by the respondents for appearing in the Common Entrance Test 2015 to be conducted on 30th and 31st May, 2015 pursuant to the notification (Annexure-Fl. yet no category was mentioned on the same. It is the stand of the petitioner that although the Admit Card was issued to him by the respondents for appearing in the Common Entrance Test 2015 to be conducted on 30th and 31st May, 2015 pursuant to the notification (Annexure-Fl. yet no category was mentioned on the same. Petitioner appeared in the Common Entrance Test and result of the same was declared vide notification No.44-BOPEE of 2015 (Annexure-G) dated 20.06.2015, relevant extract of rank-wise result of the students having medical stream (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) being attached along with the writ petition as Annexure-H as per which the petitioner obtained 109.25 out of 177 marks with 278th rank under the Open Category. Petitioner claims that having applied under RBA category and submitted confirmation page along with a copy of RBA Certificate, as per notification No.45-BOPEE of 2015 Annexure J, dated 22.06.2015, counselling of the petitioner was scheduled for 27.06.2015. Petitioner claims having approached the respondents to consider his candidature under RBA instead of open merit category but the respondents refused to do so on the ground that the validity of his RBA certificate had expired during the admission process and they also refused to entertain the renewed RBA category certificate issued by the Tehsildar, Ramnagar. In the circumstances, the petitioner filed OWP No.893/2015 which was disposed of vide order Annexure K, dated 25.06.2015 by directing J&K BOPEE to consider the claim of the petitioner in the light of judgments relied upon by him. The petitioner submitted a copy of the order of the High Court along with complete copy of the writ petition and annexures to respondent No.1 on 26.06.2015. Pursuant thereto, respondent No.5 i.e. Deputy Secretary (Legal) considered and disposed of the petitioner’s representation by passing impugned order Annexure-L No.215 BOPEE of 2015 dated 26.06.2015 rejecting the claim of the petitioner for consideration under the RBA category. 5. That the petitioner further claims that 13 seats were available under RBA Category in MBBS stream in GMC Jammu and on 27.06.2015, counselling of the candidates having merit position 251 to 375 was held and had the petitioner been considered under the RBA category, he would have got overall rank 27th, amongst RBA category candidates and amongst candidates whose counselling was held on 27.06.2015 the petitioner would have ranked 7th in RBA category as against available 13 seats for MBBS stream in GMC Jammu. In the aforementioned background, it is contended that had the petitioner been considered under the RBA category, he would got admission in MBBS stream in GMC Jammu, otherwise he would get admission in BDS. 6. Impugned order (Annexure-L) has been challenged inter alia on the ground that the petitioner had already annexed a copy of the confirmation page bearing endorsement “up to date” in the handwriting of respondent No.2 and had also annexed copy of RBA certificate with signatures of receipt clerk of J&KBOPEE endorsed at its back as token of receipt. Secondly, the impugned order had been passed on the ground that Rule 5 (9) of the J&K Board of Professional Rules, 2014 stipulated that where a candidate failed to submit reserved category certificate along with the ‘Application Form’, the application of such candidate would be considered under Open Merit category but in view of the decision of J&K BOPEE to accept applications online only, Rule 5(9) of J&K BOPEE Rules, 2014 had become redundant as there was no provision for Submitting the category certificate online along with online application form. Elaborating further, it was submitted that prior to 2015, applications for admission in the above said professional courses had to be filed offline and as per Rule 5(3) of J&K BOPEE Rules, 2014, benefit of reservation was available only to a candidate, if attested photocopy of valid category certificate was attached in non-scannable form and category code was mentioned in the original application form [both scannable and non-scannable form) at the time of submission of application form before the expiry of the last date. However, in the present admission process, there was no provision for filing application forms offline in scannable or non-scannable form and with the introduction of process of online submission of application forms, Rules 5(3) & 5(9) had become redundant and could not be made the basis for rejecting the candidature of the petitioner under the RBA category. As per the terms and conditions of the advertisement, the petitioner was required to submit a copy of the confirmation page along with attested copy of his RBA certificate before the respondents and on 09.03.2015, the petitioner submitted the said documents before the respondents, therefore, the candidature of the petitioner under RBA category could not be rejected by invoking Rule 5(9) of the J&K BOPEE Rules. Thirdly, it was contended that the respondents had ignored Rule 5(8) of the J&K BOPEE Rules, 2014, while deciding the representation of the petitioner and that the said rule provided that where a candidate had valid category certificate at the time of submission of form but its validity expired before the date of counselling, such candidate could get his certificate renewed by or before the date of counselling, otherwise, he/she would not get the benefit of the category. On the basis of the same, it is contended that the petitioner submitted his renewed RBA category certificate before the respondents on 26,06,2015 along with copy of OWP No.893/2015 pursuant to order original application form (both scannable and non-scannable form) at the time of submission of application form before the expiry of the last date. However, in the present admission process, there was no provision for filing application forms offline in scannable or non-scannable form and with the introduction of process of online submission of application forms, Rules 5(3) & 5(9) had become redundant and could not be made the basis for rejecting the candidature of the petitioner under the RBA category. As per the terms and conditions of the advertisement, the petitioner was required to submit a copy of the confirmation page along with attested copy of his RBA certificate before the respondents and on 09.03.2015, the petitioner submitted the said documents before the respondents, therefore, the candidature of the petitioner under RBA category could not be rejected by invoking Rule 5(9) of the J&K BOPEE Rules. Thirdly, it was contended that the respondents had ignored Rule 5(8) of the J&K BOPEE Rules, 2014, while deciding the representation of the petitioner and that the said rule provided that where a candidate had valid category certificate at the time of submission of form but its validity expired before the date of counselling, such candidate could get his certificate renewed by or before the date of counselling, otherwise, he/she would not get the benefit of the category. On the basis of the same, it is contended that the petitioner submitted his renewed RBA category certificate before the respondents on 26.06.2015 along with copy of OWP No.893/2015 pursuant to order dated 25.06.2015 before the date of counselling i.e. 27.06.2015 but the respondents refused to accept the same. On the basis of the same, it is contended that the petitioner submitted his renewed RBA category certificate before the respondents on 26.06.2015 along with copy of OWP No.893/2015 pursuant to order dated 25.06.2015 before the date of counselling i.e. 27.06.2015 but the respondents refused to accept the same. It has further been contended that the Advertisement Notice for initiating admission process was dated 16.02.2015 and the petitioner’s RBA category was valid till 03.03.2015. Thus, the validity of the petitioner’s RBA certificate expired during the admission process, therefore, he was entitled to the benefit of Rule 5(8) of J&K BOPREE Rules, 2014. It has been contended that the words ‘time of submission’ as used in Rule 5(8) of the Rules had to be interpreted liberally and was not to be given a restricted interpretation as time of actual submission of application form, rather it had to be interpreted as the time during which the application form could be submitted. Fourthly, respondent No.5 while passing the impugned order had wrongly interpreted judgments passed by the Division Bench of the High Court in Public Service Commission J&K v. Rimpi Ohri and Anr., (2002) 0 SW 234 and Surjeet Singh Bali v. State of J&K-(2007) 2 JKJ 383, therefore, the act of the respondents in treating the petitioner under Open Merit Category in spite of his being a member of Socially and Educationally Backward Class (Resident of Backward Area) was against the law laid down by the J&K High Court in Public Service Commission J&K v. Rimpi Ohri and Anr., (2002) 0 SW 234 and Surjeet Singh Bali vs. State of J&K- (2007) 2 JKJ. 382 . 7. Learned counsel con tended that the High Court in the aforementioned two judgments had held that requisite qualifications on the last date of filing application was relatable to Educational qualification only and that RBA/Resident of ALC status being conferred by virtue of residence/domicile, a persons status of being resident of Backward Area/ALC, would not get altered and such person would not become ineligible on account of non submission of the category certificate before the cut off date on account of non-renewal of the category certificate and consequential failure to submit the category certificate. Therefore, the respondents were required to consider the candidature of the petitioner under the RBA category but they had failed to do so. Therefore, the respondents were required to consider the candidature of the petitioner under the RBA category but they had failed to do so. Fifthly, impugned order had been passed by an incompetent person, in violation of order dated 25.06.2015 in OWP No.893/2015 wherein respondent No.1 i.e. J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examination had been directed to consider the prayer of the petitioner in the light of judgments relied upon. However, the impugned order had been passed by respondent No.5 i.e. Deputy Secretary (Legal) in J&K BOPEE and as per Section 14 of the J&K BOPEE Act, 2002, a Law Officer was only entitled to advise the Board on legal issues and was therefore not competent to take a decision on behalf of the Board, that Rule 10 of J&K BOPEE Rules, 2014 laid down the procedure to be followed for taking decision by the J&K BOPEE but in the instant case, the Board had not taken any decision in compliance of order dated 26.06.2015 passed by the High Court in OWP No.893/2015. Sixthly, the rejection of the claim of the petitioner for consideration under RBA category on the ground that the admission process to professional courses was a time bound process and no category certificate could be accepted after the cut off date was also not tenable in view of Rule 5(8) of the J&K BOPEE Rules as the same provided that where a candidate had valid category certificate at the time of the submission of the form but its validity expired before the date of counselling, such candidate could get his certificate renewed by or before the date of counselling and submit the same on or before the date of counselling and in the instant case, the petitioner had submitted his renewed category certificate prior to the date of counselling. Seventhly, the rejection of the claim of the petitioner for being considered under RBA category on the ground that he appeared under Open merit category was not based on facts as the petitioner had clearly mentioned in his application form that he had applied under RBA category and had also submitted confirmation page along with attested copy of RBA certificate before the respondents and Admit card issued to the petitioner did not mention any category under which the petitioner was to apply. Lastly, that in case the respondents did not consider the candidature of the petitioner under the RBA category, he would not get the Institution and Discipline of his choice and by doing so the respondents would be discriminating the petitioner and other candidates belonging to RBA category without any reasonable cause, therefore, violating Article-14 of the Constitution of India. 8. Objections have been filed on behalf of the respondents contending that the Government of Jammu & Kashmir in exercise of powers u/s 23 of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination Act, 2002 (hereinafter to be referred to as ‘Act of 2002’) had made the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination Rules, 2014 (hereinafter to be referred to as ‘Rules of 2014’) and said rules regulate the matters relating to functioning of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination including the conduct of entrance test and selection of candidates for admission to professional courses in professional institutions. The petitioner while applying for CET-2015 had violated the instructions contained in the Information Brochure of CET-2015, inasmuch as, while Submitting online application form on 09.03.2015, the petitioner did not submit his category certificate in the BOPEE Office as required under Rules and Notifications/Notices mentioned in the Information Brochure. 2nd1y, as per Rule-5(6), no category certificate issued after the expiry of the last date could be accepted and in the instant case, last date was 19.03.2015 whereas the certificate submitted by the petitioner was dated 02.06.2015. 3rdly, Rule 5(9) categorically mentioned that whenever a candidate failed to submit his reserved category certificate along with the application form, his/her application would be considered under the open merit category and in the circumstances, mere mentioning in the application form, category code of RBA did not entitle the petitioner to be considered under the said category until and unless the said certificate was produced before the authorities as and when demanded. As per notification dated 16.02.2015, certificate of belonging to RBA was to be submitted upto 19.03.2015 along with the confirmation page. However, the RBA certificate of the petitioner had expired on 03.03.2015. The petitioner came to the office of the respondents on 06.03.2015 for depositing the application form and on the said date, the RBA certificate was not valid, therefore, as per rules the petitioner was treated as an open merit candidate. However, the RBA certificate of the petitioner had expired on 03.03.2015. The petitioner came to the office of the respondents on 06.03.2015 for depositing the application form and on the said date, the RBA certificate was not valid, therefore, as per rules the petitioner was treated as an open merit candidate. Fourthly, as per the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case titled as Mridul Dhar (Minor) and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors., (2005) 2 SCC 65 , the last date upto which students could be admitted against vacancies arising due to any reason for MBBS / BDS course was 30th September and the respondents adhering to the abovementioned directions had already completed the process of admission in MBBS course for which CET 2015 Entrance Test was conducted. Further in case titled as Deepika Gupta and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors. i.e. Writ Petition (Civil) No.737/2013), the Hon’ble Supreme Court had directed all the authorities to follow without any deviation the Schedule in which the last date for admitting MBBS students against the vacancies arising due to any reason was stipulated as 30th September and it was further mentioned in the order that any deviation by any agency would tantamount to contempt of the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. 9. That even as per the own showing of the petitioner, the application form was stated to have been filed on 06.03.2015 while fee was deposited on 07.03.2015 meaning thereby that the petitioner was ineligible under law to apply under RBA category on the said date as the RBA certificate was valid only upto 03.03.2015, that 30,000 forms had been received for CET-2015 and no candidate except the petitioner had complained regarding online mode of submission of application, therefore, the petitioner’s contention was baseless and without any merit. Further, mere mentioning / applying in application form for a particular category i.e. RBA would not entitle a candidate for consideration in the said category until and unless the candidate complied with the rules / notification and attached a valid REA certificate. In the instant case, the petitioner was bound to submit his certificate as per rules within prescribed period. Further, mere mentioning / applying in application form for a particular category i.e. RBA would not entitle a candidate for consideration in the said category until and unless the candidate complied with the rules / notification and attached a valid REA certificate. In the instant case, the petitioner was bound to submit his certificate as per rules within prescribed period. In fact, the petitioner was not holding a valid certificate at the time of uploading application form and at the time of submission of confirmation page and since the petitioner did not submit valid certificate as per rules / notification, therefore, he was rightfully not considered under the RBA category but as an open merit candidate. Further, the petitioner was called for counselling as an open merit candidate as per his rank/ merit and it was solely on account of his own fault of non- submission of valid category certificate in time that the petitioner was not considered under the RBA category. 10. Accordingly, in view of Rule-5(6) and Rule-5(7) of Rules of 2014, it was clear that the category certificate issued after the expiry of last date of submission of form could in no case be accepted. Besides Rule 5(9) was also clear that the candidate must have a valid category certificate at the time of submission of application form whereas in the instant case, the petitioner was not holding a valid certificate at the relevant point of time, accordingly he was considered as an open merit candidate. 11. That the orders of the High Court passed in OWP No.893/2015 were given due consideration in terms of the Rule position and admission notification and it was found that the Rule position did not allow consideration of the candidature of the petitioner under the RBA category at that stage, as claims of similarly situated candidates had been rejected, the petitioner had not gone through the contents of BOPEE notification dated 16.02.2015 and the words ‘application’ contained therein meant confirmation page and the petitioner was required to submit the same with relevant certificate in BOPEE Office in order to enable ascertaining of validity of the certificate. As such the petitioner’s plea that Rule 5(3) and 5(9) had become redundant was not justified and the petitioner was aware that he had not complied with the instructions laid down m the Information Brochure/Rules/Notification. As such the petitioner’s plea that Rule 5(3) and 5(9) had become redundant was not justified and the petitioner was aware that he had not complied with the instructions laid down m the Information Brochure/Rules/Notification. Besides Rule 5(8) was very clear and as per the said rule, certificate relied upon was required to be valid at the time of submission of application form which was not so in the case of the petitioner. Besides, valid certificate was issued to the petitioner after the cut off date, therefore, the same could not be entertained. 12. Lastly, it has been contended that the decisions relied upon i.e., Public Service Commission J&K v. Rimpi Ohri and Anr. and Surjeet Singh Bali v. State of J&K are of no avail to the petitioner in the facts and circumstances of the case. 13. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and considered the submission made in the light of the record relied upon. Notification (Annexure-C) categorically mentions that selection of candidates would be governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination Act, 2002, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination Rules, 2014, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act 2004, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005 and the guidelines as contained in the Electronic Information Brochure-20 15 available on the website of BOPEE. Note to the notification (Annexure-C) contains the following cautions; (a) No under process certificate will be accepted. (b) Candidates are advised to upload Online Application Form under the guidance of their parents/Guardians. (c) The information provided by the candidates in the online Application Form cannot be verified from the original documents by the BOPEE officials before counselling for admission of the candidates. The information on the Confirmation Page or on the Admit Card of the candidate shall in no case be construed as an acceptance of that information/ category certificate by the BOPEE. Therefore, if at any stage, it is found that a candidate has provided false or incorrect information in respect of any eligibility condition, his/ her candidature will be cancelled without any further notice. 14. That along with the confirmation page, candidates were also required to submit to BOPEE Office, additional attested photocopy of valid category certificate on prescribed proforma given in the relevant annexure. Online application form was to be submitted on BOPEE’s website between 17.02.2015 to 11.03.2015. 14. That along with the confirmation page, candidates were also required to submit to BOPEE Office, additional attested photocopy of valid category certificate on prescribed proforma given in the relevant annexure. Online application form was to be submitted on BOPEE’s website between 17.02.2015 to 11.03.2015. Applicants were advised to fill the online application form of their own or under guidance of a responsible person and could also avail the service for filling up online application form at nominal charges at the Common Service Centre i.e. (Khidmat Centres/VLE) of J&K State and if required the applicants could also contact the IT Section of BOPEE on given Telephone numbers / email Id for any assistance / guidance in regard thereto on any working day upto the stipulated last date. Candidates from open merit category were not required to submit any Confirmation Page in the BOPEE office. However, candidates claiming benefit of any reserved category were required to submit confirmation page of their online application form by hand or by post along with attested photo copy of the reserved category certificate in the office of J&K BOPEE on any working day from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. between 18th of February and 11th March, 2015. Reserved category candidates, who failed to deposit the confirmation page of the application form complete in all respects by or before 11th of March, 2015 up to 5:00 P.M., were required to pay late fee of Rs. 1000/ - (Rupees one thousand only) through Bank Challan or POS machines available at BOPEE office by or before 13th of March, 2015 up to 05:00 P.M where-after no confirmation page was to be entertained, whether submitted by hand or by post. Confirmation page posted by ordinary/registered or speed post or sent through courier within the prescribed last date, but reaching BOPEE office after the expiry of the last date prescribed for the submission of the confirmation page, was also not to be entertained. Reserved category candidates were required to ensure that their confirmation page reached BOPEE office within the stipulated time. Candidates could check the status of their application from the official website of BOPEE and if the form was not confirmed for want of required information, the candidate concerned was required to report in BOPEE office by or before 25th March, 2015, failing which his/her application form would be rejected. Candidates could check the status of their application from the official website of BOPEE and if the form was not confirmed for want of required information, the candidate concerned was required to report in BOPEE office by or before 25th March, 2015, failing which his/her application form would be rejected. Relevant extract of Notification (Annexure-C) is reproduced hereunder:— “Online Application Forms: The Application Forms have to be submitted online only through BOPEE websites www.jakbopee.org / www.jakbopee.net (through URL’s/ links provided for this purpose) from 17th of February to 11th March, 2015. The payment of rupees 1000 (Rupees one thousand only) as fee is to be made also online through the HDFC integrated Payment Gateway which can be used to make payment with any national Credit Card/Debit Card/ Net Banking or by downloading online generated Bank Challan of J&K Bank/ HDFC Bank for depositing the fee amount, in any branch of J&K Bank or HDFC Bank, directly in the BOPEE Account. The procedure for filing Application Form and eligibility etc. of the candidates have been given in detail in the E-Brochure. The students must necessarily, in their own interest, go through this Brochure before attempting to fill up the online Application Form. The applicants are advised to fill the online Application Forms on their own or through a responsible person. The applicants can also avail services at Common Service Centres (Khidmat Centres/VLE) of J&K State for filling up online Application Form at nominal charges. The rate list for various services to be availed at Khidmat Centres is available on the official website of the BOPEE. The applicants can also contact the Help Desk of I.T. Section of BOPEE on 8813878737/ 9419434133/ 9906778513 / 9697383737 / 9469012295 and / or email-at administrator@jakbopee.org for any assistance / guidance in this regard on any working day within the prescribed last date. Submission of Online Application Forms The candidates of open merit need not to submit any Confirmation Page in the BOPEE office. Submission of Online Application Forms The candidates of open merit need not to submit any Confirmation Page in the BOPEE office. However, the candidates claiming benefit of any reserved category (including Sports, TFW and P& B) have to submit Confirmation Page of their online Application Form (by hand or by post) along with the attested photo copy of the reserved category certificate in the office of the J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations, (BOPEE) Srinagar/ Jammu on any working day from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. from 18th of February to 11th March, 2015. The reserved category candidates, who fail to deposit their Confirmation Page of Application Form complete in all respects by or before 11th of March, 2015 up to 5:00 P.M., shall have to pay a late fee of Rs. 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only) through Bank Challan or POS machines available at BOPEE office Srinagar/Jammu by or before 13th of March, 2015 up to 05:00 P.M where-after no Confirmation Page will be entertained, whether submitted by hand or by post. The Confirmation Page posted by Ordinary/Registered or Speed Post or sent through courier within the prescribed last date, but reaches BOPEE office, Srinagar/ Jammu after the expiry of the last date prescribed for the submission of the Confirmation Page, shall not be entertained. The reserved category candidates have to ensure that their Confirmation Page reaches BOPEE office within the stipulated time. The candidates can change/ modify their online Application Form at any time before they submit it online. They are advised, in their own interest, not to share their login details with anybody, lest he/she may get an opportunity to change important details in the Application Form. They can check the status of their Application Form on 19th March, 2015 on the official website of the BOPEE. If any form is not confirmed for want of required information, the candidate concerned must report in the BOPEE office by or before 25th March, 2015, failing which his/her Application Form shall be rejected. Eligibility for appearing in CET-20 15 1. If any form is not confirmed for want of required information, the candidate concerned must report in the BOPEE office by or before 25th March, 2015, failing which his/her Application Form shall be rejected. Eligibility for appearing in CET-20 15 1. The Applicant must: a. be a permanent resident of J&K State as defined in Section 6 of the Constitution of J&K b. have passed higher secondary Part-Il (12th /10+2 class) or an equivalent examination from a recognized statutory Board with atleast— i. English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology as his/ her subjects for admission to MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BUMS, Physiotherapy and Diploma in Dental hygiene; or ii. English, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as his/her subjects for admission to Bachelor of Engineering Courses. c. have obtained at 10+2 level not less than 50% marks in case of open merit candidate and not less than 40% marks, in case of Reserved Category candidates. 2. The candidates, appearing or who have appeared in 12th Class Examination of any recognized Board but whose result has not been declared yet, are also eligible to appear in the CET. However, they will not be considered for selection if they fail to produce original Marks Card of their 12th class examination at the time of counselling and have secured marks as mentioned above in clause 1(c) above.” 15. Subsequently, BOPEE issued notification No.05 of BOPEE dated 09.03.2015 extending the period for submission of online application form for CET-2015 upto 19.03.2015 to provide one more opportunity to the candidates especially of far-off areas to submit application forms. Consequently, the cut of date for submission of reserved category certificate was 19.03.2015. 16. Rule-5(3) of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination Rules, 2014 reads as under:— “Rule 5(3) The benefit of reservation shall be available to the concerned candidate only if the attested photo copy of the valid category certificate is attached with the non-scannable form and category Code mentioned in the original application form (both scannable and non-scannable form) at the time of its submission before the expiry of the last date.” 17. A perusal thereof reveals that the benefit of reservation is available to a candidate only if a attested photo copy of valid category certificate was attached with the non-scannable form and category code mentioned in the original application form (both scannable and non-scannable form) at the time of its submission before the expiry of the last date. In other words, sine qua non for eligibility was attaching of attested photocopy of valid category certificate before the expiry of the last date. However, this requirement was not complied with. 18. Rule 5(6) of Rules of 2014 makes it clear that a category certificate issued after the expiry of last date would in no case be accepted. Rule 5(9) of Rules of 2014, on the other hand, stipulates that where a candidate fails to submit reserved category certificate along with the “application form” his/her application would be considered under open merit category. Rules 5(6) and 5(9) of the Rules of 2014 are reproduced hereunder:— ‘5(6) The category certificate issued after the expiry of the last date shall in no case be accepted; and 5(9) Where a candidate fails to submit reserved category certificate along with the “Application Form”, his/her application will be considered under Open Merit category.’ 19. That it is the admitted stand of the parties that the petitioner submitted online application form on 06.03.2015. Provisional confirmation page i.e. Annexure-E mentions the category, 13-Resident of Backward Area (RBA) while the certificate of being a member of the Socially and Educationally Backward Class attached thereto issued on 03.0.3.2010 by the Tehsildar Ramnagar mentions the petitioner to be a Resident of Backward Area. The said certificate granted on the basis of application dated 08.12.2009 was issued vide endorsement No.881-82/BCG dated 03.03.2010. However, while mentioning that the certificate would be valid for a period of five years from the date of issue of certificate issued under office File No.770/BCG, date mentioned was 08.12.2010. In the aforementioned background, it is the stand of the petitioner that he was misled with regard to the validity period of the certificate. However, the presumption of the petitioner of validity of the certificate for a period of five years from 08.12.2010 is misconceived since the certificate categorically records that the certificate would remain valid for a period of five years from the date of issuance of certificate and the date of issuance of certificate is categorically recorded as 03.03.2010. However, the presumption of the petitioner of validity of the certificate for a period of five years from 08.12.2010 is misconceived since the certificate categorically records that the certificate would remain valid for a period of five years from the date of issuance of certificate and the date of issuance of certificate is categorically recorded as 03.03.2010. Thus, there was no dispute with regard to the date of issuance of the certificate. Therefore, assuming any other date of issuance of certificate is absolutely baseless and misconceived. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, RBA certificate submitted by the petitioner along with the confirmation page on 09.03.2015 did not satisfy the requirement of Rule-5(3) of the Rules of 2014 as per which the benefit of reservation was available to a candidate only in case of submission of attested photocopy of valid category certificate before the expiry of the last date. 20. No doubt, the last date had been extended to 19.03.2015 but the fact remains that fresh certificate produced by the petitioner i.e. Annexure-B was applied for only on 20.04.2015 and was issued on 02.06.2015 certifying the petitioner to be a Resident of Backward Area. As on the last date i.e. 19.03.2015, the petitioner did not have a valid RBA certificate since the certificate issued to him earlier was valid only up to 03.03.2015. 21. Rule-5(6) of the Rules 2014 categorically mentions that category certificate issued after the expiry of the last date would in no case be accepted while Rule-5(9) makes it clear that if a candidate fails to submit reserved category certificate along with the application form, his/her application would be considered under the open merit category. Submission of reserved category certificate along with the application form contemplated in Rule-5(9) has to be read in the context of Rule-5(3) to mean a valid category certificate which admittedly the petitioner did not possess as on the date of submission of the application form or for that matter, even thereafter up to extended last date i.e. 19.03.2015. Therefore, mere mentioning in the application form, the category code of RBA was of no avail qua the claim of the petitioner for being considered under RBA category. The matter has to be considered from another angle also. Therefore, mere mentioning in the application form, the category code of RBA was of no avail qua the claim of the petitioner for being considered under RBA category. The matter has to be considered from another angle also. The certificate of belonging to the reserved category of RBA can be issued in favour of a claimant only on his satisfying the Competent Authority of the Statutory requirements in terms of the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005 as per which a person can claim issuance of RBA certificate only on his showing that on the date of applying for the same, he was resident of area for 15 years and that income of his father/his income did not exceed Rs.4.5 Lacs per annum. 22. Relevant provisions of the J&K Reservation Act, 2004 and J&K Reservation Rules, 2005 are reproduced hereunder:— 18. Competent Authority to issue certificate. The following officers shall be the Competent Authority to issue certificates under these rules:— Category Competent Authority (a) Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Socially and Educationally Backward Classes:— i) Weak and Under Privileged Classes (Social castes) Tehsildar ii) Residents of the Area adjoining Actual Line of Control iii) Residents of  Backward areas Provided that in respect of villages of Paddar, Marwah and Warwan Tehsil Kishtwar, District Doda, the Naib Tehsildar shall also be competent authority to issue such certificates. (b) Children of Defence Personnel (Army, Navy and Air Force) Commanding Officer of the Unit/ Zila Sainik Board (c) Children of Paramilitary Forces and State State Police Personnel serving in the DIG concerned (d) Candidates possessing Outstanding Proficiency in Sports (Sports Category) Secretary, Sports Council (e) Physically Challenged Persons As prescribed in Notification SRO-414 dated 11-12-2003 (Jammu and Kashmir with Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Rules, 2003 (f) Ex-servicemen and children of  Defence Personnel Zila Sainik Board/Commanding Officer of the Unit where serving or served (g) Resident of Backward Area/Area Adjoining ALC in respect of registered migrants of Kashmir Relief Commissioner (Migrants) Provided that the certificates so far issued under notification SRO 126 of 1994 dated 28.06.1994 shall, subject to the conditions specified therein, be valid for purpose of these rules also. 21. 21. Procedure for issuance of certificates The issuance of certificates shall be governed by the procedure laid down in Sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 1 7, 18, 20, 21 and 22 of the Act and the Competent Authority shall scrutinize the application and conduct such enquires as may be necessary for verification of the details of the application as also with regard to the eligibility of the applicant for the certificate claimed by him/ her keeping in view the following guidelines, namely:— (i) A person claiming to be a member of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes shall be issued the requisite certificate only if he is not excluded under clause (0) of section 2 of the Act or rule 3 of these rules; (ii) A person claiming benefit under Weak and Under privileged Class should be born in that class and on the basis of actual practicing of the occupation by his/ her parents; (iii) A person claiming benefit for being resident of Backward Area or of Area near the Line of Actual Control must establish that he/she has resided in the area for a period not less than 15 years before the date of application and is actually residing in the said area. However, a person may not be disentitled from claiming this benefit only on the ground that his/ her father or person on whom he/ she is dependent is living in a place which is not identified as Backward Area or area near line of Actual Control on account of his employment, business or other professional or vocational reasons; (iv) A person claiming benefit on the grounds that he/ she belongs to Scheduled Tribe community shall produce an extract of Jamanbandi in respect of members of the Tribes, who own land and extract of electoral roll or Chullhabandi or ration card in respect of landless members of the Tribes. The production of identity cards or Grazing Cards issued by Forest Department or Revenue agencies in respect of landless members of Gujjar and Bakeruial Communities shall be supplementary evidence for the said purpose: Provided that residents of village Turtuk of Leh district who claim to be Scheduled Tribes may substantiate their claim by production of sufficient and satisfactory oral or documentary evidence available with them; (v) A person claiming to be child of a Defence personnel must establish that his/ her parent is a permanent resident of the State and is serving or has served in the Army, Navy or Air Force and has honourably been discharged or retired and has not come to any adverse notice for any criminal or antinational activity; (vi) A person claiming to be child of para-military or State Police personnel must establish that his/ her parent is a permanent Resident of the State and is actually serving in the State, or have retired from the said services, and have not come to any adverse notice for any criminal or antinational activity; (vii) A person claiming the benefit under the sports category must establish that he/she IS an outstanding sports person in terms of the J&K Certification of Outstanding Proficiency in Sports Rules, 1996/J&K (Appointment of Outstanding Sports Persons) Rules, 1998 as the case may be. 22. Determination of Annual Income The annual income of a person claiming benefit under these rules shall be determined in the following manner:— (i) Where a person is living with his/her parents/guardian and is dependent upon them/him, the annual income of parents/guardian from all sources shall be taken into account; (ii) Where a person is not living with his/her parents/guardian and is not dependent upon them/him, his/her annual income from all sources including that of his/ her spouse shall be taken into account. Provided that the annual income shall be assessed by taking into account the average of the gross annual income of last three consecutive years excluding the agricultural income. 23. Issuance of Certificate The Competent Authority shall within 15 days from the date of the receipt of the application for reasons to be recorded in writing either accept the application or reject it. On the acceptance of the application, the authority shall immediately issue the requisite certificate to the applicant in Form VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, as the case may be. 24. On the acceptance of the application, the authority shall immediately issue the requisite certificate to the applicant in Form VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, as the case may be. 24. Validity and Renewal The certificates issued to residents of Backward Areas or Areas near the Line of Actual Control shall be valid for a period of five years at a time and the certificates shall be renewable after following the procedure prescribed for issuance of such certificate.’ 23. That it would also be relevant to mention here that in terms of Section 2 (0) of the J&K Reservation Act, 2004 amended vide SRO 303 of 2012 dated 17.09.2012, the words “rupees three lacs” appearing in the said entry stand substituted by the words “rupees four lacs and fifty thousand. Accordingly, reserved category status of a candidate claiming benefit there-under is subject to his fulfilling the requirement of his being resident of the area concerned for 15 years and income of his father/his income not exceeding Rs.4.5 Lacs per annum. REA certificate, therefore, is dependent upon the establishing of the aforementioned requirements. Therefore, for the period 03.03.2015 till 02.06.2015, the petitioner did not possess a REA certificate and in view of the Rules referred to above,’ he was not entitled to claim the benefit under the RBA category and was entitled to be considered only as an open merit candidate. 24. That even otherwise, the law is well settled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that the procedure for conduct of selection stipulated in an advertisement has to be meticulously adhered to and there cannot be any deviation in respect of the terms and conditions stipulated in the advertisement unless such a power is specifically reserved in respect thereto in the advertisement. Relevant extract of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case titled as Bedanga Talukdar v. Saifudullah Khan and Ors. reported as AIR 2012 SC 1803 is reproduced as under:— ‘28. We have considered the entire matter in detail. In our opinion, it is too well settled to need any further reiteration that all appointments to public office have to be made m conformity with Article 14 of the Constitution of India. In other words, there must be no arbitrariness resulting from any undue favour being shown to any candidate. Therefore, the selection process has to be conducted strictly in accordance with the stipulated selection procedure. In other words, there must be no arbitrariness resulting from any undue favour being shown to any candidate. Therefore, the selection process has to be conducted strictly in accordance with the stipulated selection procedure. Consequently, when a particular schedule is mentioned in an advertisement, the same has to be scrupulously maintained. There cannot be any relaxation in the terms and conditions of the advertisement unless such a power is specifically reserved. Such a power could be reserved in the relevant Statutory Rules. Even if power of relaxation is provided in the rules, it must still be mentioned in the advertisement. In the absence of such power in the Rules, it could still be provided in the advertisement. However, the power of relaxation, if exercised has to be given due publicity. This would be necessary to ensure that those candidates who become eligible due to the relaxation, are afforded an equal opportunity to apply and compete. Relaxation of any condition m advertisement without due publication would be contrary to the mandate of quality contained in Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. 29. A perusal of the advertisement in this case will clearly show that there was no power of relaxation. In our opinion, the High Court committed an error in directing that the condition with regard to the submission. of the disability certificate either along with the application form or before appearing in the preliminary examination could be relaxed in the case of respondent No.1. Such a course would not be permissible as it would violate the mandate of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. 25. That although the aforementioned judgment pertains to selection for appointment, the principles mentioned therein would clearly be applicable in the facts of the instant case also. Such a course would not be permissible as it would violate the mandate of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. 25. That although the aforementioned judgment pertains to selection for appointment, the principles mentioned therein would clearly be applicable in the facts of the instant case also. Hon’ble Supreme Court has also held that where a cut-off date is stipulated for admission to professional colleges, a decision of Hon’ble Supreme Court cannot be quoted as precedent in any other case as the directions in a particular case are issued after due consideration of the peculiar facts involved in the said case and that unless claims of exceptional nature are brought before the Court within the time schedule fixed by the Supreme Court, the Court or Board should not pass any orders for granting admission into any particular course out of time and that in whatever earlier decision of this Court out of time admissions were granted, the same could not be quoted as a precedence in any other case and where the Court or Board was not in a position to grant relief Within the time schedule due to the fault attributable to the candidate concerned there should be no hesitation to deny relief as was done by the learned Single Judge and where the grant of relief was not possible within the limit scheduled due to reasons attributable to other parties which were found to be deliberate or mala-fide, the Court should only consider any other relief, other than directions for admission, such as, compensation etc. Relevant extract of the decision of the Hon ‘ble Supreme Court in case titled as Chandigarh Administration and Anr. v. Jasmine Kour and Ors. with Jessice Reshi v. Chandigarh Administration and Ors.” AIR 2015 Supreme Court 34 is reproduced hereunder:— ‘As time and again such instances of claiming admission into such professional courses are brought before the Court, and on every such occasion, reliance is placed upon the various decisions of this Court for issuing necessary directions for accommodating the students to various courses claiming parity, we feel it appropriate to state that unless such claims of exceptional nature are brought before the Court within the time schedule fixed by this Court, Court or Board should not pass orders for granting admission into any particular course out of time. In this context, it will have to be stated that in whatever earlier decisions of this Court such out of time admissions were granted, the same cannot be quoted as a precedent in any other case, as such directions were issued after due consideration of the peculiar facts involved in those cases. No two cases can be held to be similar in all respects. Therefore, in such of those cases where the Court or Board is not in a position to grant the relief within the time schedule due to the fault attributable to the candidate concerned, like the case on hand, there should be no hesitation to deny the relief as was done by the learned Single Judge. If for any reason, such grant of relief is not possible within the time schedule, due to reasons attributable to other parties, and such reasons are found to be deliberate or mala fide the Court should only consider any other relief other than direction for admission, such as compensation, etc. In such situations, the Court should ensure that those who were at fault are appropriately proceeded against and punished in order to ensure that such deliberate or malicious acts do not recur.’ 26. That otherwise impugned order even the dated 26.06.2015 rejecting the claim of the petitioner pursuant to the directions of the High Court to consider and decide the claim of the petitioner is a well reasoned order. As per the same, in terms of paragraph No.4 of the Notification (Annexure-C) dated 16.02.2015, a candidate claiming benefit of reserved category was required to submit confirmation page of online application form by hand or by post along with attested copy of the reserved category certificate in the office of BOPEE between 18.02.2015 to 11.03.2015 which date was subsequently extended upto 19.03.2015. Thereafter on representation of reserved category candidates, one more opportunity was given to the left over reserved candidates by way of public notice No.BOPEE/Exam-06/2015 dated 07.05.2015 whereby reserved category candidates were allowed to submit the reserved category certificates (attested copy) on or before 11.05.2015 upto 5:00 p.m. in BOPEE Office subject to the condition that the certificate had been issued by the competent authority before the cut off date i.e. 19.03.2015 while making it clear that the reserved category certificate would not be entertained in case the same had been issued after 18.03.2015 in which case the candidate would be considered in the open merit category, if otherwise eligible. Consideration of candidates under open merit category in such an eventuality has been referred to in page No. 11 of the Information Brochure CET-2015 wherein it has categorically been mentioned that where a candidate fails to submit the reserved category certificate along with the application form, his /her application would be considered under open merit category, if otherwise found eligible. 27. Reference has also been made to Rule 5(9) of the BOPEE Rules 2014 that in case a candidate fails to submit reserved category certificate along with the application form, his/her application would be considered under open merit category. The petitioner submitted his application form on 07.03.2015 but did not submit his category certificate as required as per rules/notification /notices issued there under and appeared in CET -2015 held on 30th & 31st of May, 2015 as an open merit candidate. Later on, he filed OWP No.893/2015 praying that the respondents be directed to consider his candidature under RBA category for admission process initiated vide Notification No.02-BOPEE of 2015 dated 16.02.2015 which was disposed of by directing consideration of the prayer made in the writ petition in the light of the judgments relied upon. On consideration, it was found that the petitioner had not submitted category certificate along with confirmation page within the stipulated period of time as allowed by the J&K BOPEE vide repeated notifications, therefore, the candidature of the petitioner was considered under the open merit category in terms of the rules. The position as per Rules/Regulations/Guidelines/Notification/Notices was very clear that in case of non-submission of category certificate within the period of time allowed, the concerned candidate would be treated as an open merit candidate, if otherwise found eligible. The position as per Rules/Regulations/Guidelines/Notification/Notices was very clear that in case of non-submission of category certificate within the period of time allowed, the concerned candidate would be treated as an open merit candidate, if otherwise found eligible. Since the petitioner failed to submit category certificate within the time allowed, therefore, he was not entitled to consideration under the RBA category. It also needs mention here that Notification dated 16.02.2015 as per which the last date for submission of application form was 1l.03.2015 was subsequently on 09.03.2015 extended upto 19.03.2015. Thereafter, the date for submission of application from along with reserved category certificate was extended vide letter dated 07.05.2015 upto 1l.05.2015 subject to the condition that the certificate had been issued by the competent authority before the cut off date i.e. 19.03.2015. The stand of the petitioner that the date in the certificate i.e. 08.12.2010 misled him into believing that the certificate (Annexure-A) dated 03.03.2010 was valid up to 08.12.2015 is not acceptable for the petitioner’s stand is that when he went to submit the certificate in the office of BOPEE i.e., 09.03.2015, he was told by respondent No.2 to get the date clarified from the issuing authority. The aforementioned averments in paragraph No.6 of the writ petition are a concoction of facts for although in paragraph No.7 of the writ petition, it has been mentioned that thereafter the petitioner sought information with regard to conflict in the dates in the RBA certificate from the office of the Tehsildar, Ramnagar, whereupon he was informed that the date of file in RBA certificate was inadvertently mentioned as 08.12.2010 instead of 08.12.2009 but the fact remains that the petitioner applied for renewal of REA certificate only on 20.04.2015 which was issued to him on 02.06.2015. Thus, the petitioner has tried to over-reach the Court for had the position been as reflected in paragraph Nos.6 & 7 of the writ petition, then in that eventuality the petitioner would have immediately i.e. after 09.03.2015 when he came to know about the alleged discrepancy in the date, would have approached the Tehsildar Udhampur the very next day or a few days thereafter but the fact remains that the petitioner approached the Tehsildar Udhampur only on 20.04.2015. The same goes to demolish the story as set up by the petitioner in paragraph No.6 & 7 of the writ petition of his having been told about the discrepancy on 09.03.2015. 28. Be as it may, the fact remains that as on 09.03.2015, the petitioner did not have a valid RBA certificate since the date of issuance of certificate IS clearly recorded as 03.03.02010, therefore, under no circumstances and by no stretch of imagination, the validity period of the same i.e. 5 years could be treated as beyond 03.03.2015 and in case the petitioner was aware on 09.03.2015 of his not having a valid RBA certificate then it is quite clear that he chose not to apply for the renewal / issuance of a valid certificate and get it before the last date i.e.19.03.2015, rather waited for a period of close to 1lh months even after extension of date for submission of reserved category certificate vide Notification dated 09.03.2015, whereunder it was clearly provided that the date for submission of online application forms had been extended up to 19.03.2015 and subsequently vide Notification dated 07.05.2015, an opportunity was granted to the candidates belonging to the reserved category to submit attested copy of category certificate on or before 11.05.2015 but the fact remains that even the same is of no avail to the petitioner since he applied for RBA certificate only on 20.04.2015 i.e. after 19.03.2015 i.e. last date for submission of online application forms along with valid RBA certificate. 29. Rule-5(3) read with Rule-5(9) of the BOPEE Rules 2014 makes it crystal clear that an application filed without a valid RBA certificate before the expiry of the last date would not entitle a candidate to reservation and in such an eventuality, his/her application would be considered under open merit category. Rule-5(6) on the other hand categorically mentions that a category certificate issued after the expiry of the last date would in no case be accepted. The aforementioned rules and caution in respect thereto as are mentioned in the Notification and the guidelines i.e. CET-2015 makes the position very clear. Even otherwise, there is no challenge to the validity of the rules applicable. Besides admissions were to be made on the basis of the selection test qua professional courses (MBBS) etc. The aforementioned rules and caution in respect thereto as are mentioned in the Notification and the guidelines i.e. CET-2015 makes the position very clear. Even otherwise, there is no challenge to the validity of the rules applicable. Besides admissions were to be made on the basis of the selection test qua professional courses (MBBS) etc. It is not open to a candidate not to adhere to the Notification/Notices/Rules/Regulations in respect thereto and claim benefit de hors the applicable rules, regulations and selection criteria applicable. Relaxation, if any, permissible in respect thereto is only as per the policy /provisions applicable in respect thereto. The petitioner failed to avail the same also, therefore, cannot make any grievance of any injustice having been meted to him. 30. In LPAOW No.51/2015 in case titled as J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations and Ors. V. Sovia Anand, a Division Bench of this Court vide its judgment dated 02.03.2016 held that the question of grant of admission beyond the cut-off date did not arise at all. The time schedule for admission to the first MBBS and BDS courses for the academic sessions 2014-2015 was laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case titled as Deepika Gupta and Ors. V. Union of India and Ors. The seats to be filled up by the institutions on account of the vacancies arising due to any reason against which the candidate could be admitted was up to 30th September, 2015 and the admission process had accordingly been completed by the said date by J&K BOPEE by initiating process in terms of Notification No.02/BOPEE of 2015 dated 16.02.2015. 31. That at this stage, decision of the Full Bench of this Court in case titled as Competent Authority, Entrance Examinations, J&K and Anr. V. Mahesh Kumar Jia Lal Raina and Anr. Reported as AIR 2016 J&K 90 (Full Bench), may be taken note of Relevant extract of the same is reproduced hereunder:— ‘A candidate must possess the eligibility on the cut off date and if claims that he/she belongs to a particular category in the application form and unable to produce the proof! V. Mahesh Kumar Jia Lal Raina and Anr. Reported as AIR 2016 J&K 90 (Full Bench), may be taken note of Relevant extract of the same is reproduced hereunder:— ‘A candidate must possess the eligibility on the cut off date and if claims that he/she belongs to a particular category in the application form and unable to produce the proof! Certificate before the cutoff date inspite of his/her best efforts, the said candidate shall be permitted to produce the proof before finalization of the selection for admission/ appointment as producing proof is procedural and if no claim is made in the application the candidate cannot be permitted to produce proof of the same and such candidate shall be considered in open merit category.’ 32. A perusal of the extract of the decision of the Hon’ble Full Bench makes it clear that a candidate must possess the eligibility on the cut-off date and if he or she claims in the application form to belong to a particular category but is unable to produce the proof/ certificate before the cut-off date, then in that eventuality, the said candidate shall not be deprived of the benefit of the particular category and is entitled to produce the same before finalization of the selection. However, the same is subject to a caveat, viz, of the candidate not having been able to produce the certificate/proof before the cut-off date in spite of his/ her best efforts. This is not the position here as is evident from the position noted above. 33. Having taken into account all aspects of the matter, I am of the considered view that the petitioner is not entitled to the benefit of the decision of the Hon ‘ble Full Bench, for the reason that the petitioner had submitted a certificate of his belonging to RBA category which was dated 03.03.2010 and was valid for a period of five years i.e. upto 02.03.2015. The application form was submitted on 07.03.2015 i.e. after the expiry of the validity period of the certificate. Thereafter, the last date for submission of online application was extended upto 19.03.2015. The petitioner in paragraph No.6 & 7 of the writ petition has taken up the plea that he went to submit the certificate in the office of BOPEE on 09.03.2015 whereupon he was directed by respondent No.2 to get the date in RBA certificate clarified from the Issuing Authority. The petitioner in paragraph No.6 & 7 of the writ petition has taken up the plea that he went to submit the certificate in the office of BOPEE on 09.03.2015 whereupon he was directed by respondent No.2 to get the date in RBA certificate clarified from the Issuing Authority. However, as has been dealt in paragraph No. 27 of this judgment, the averments in paragraph No.6&7 of the writ petition are a concoction of fact, for although the petitioner has mentioned that thereafter he sought information regarding conflict in the dates in the RBA Certificate from the office of the Tehsildar, Ramnagar but the petitioner never bothered to apply for renewal of the RBA certificate and it was only on 20.04.2015 that he submitted an application for renewal of RBA certificate which was issued to him on 02.06.2015. 34. Had the position as is mentioned in paragraph Nos. 6 & 7 of the writ petition been correct, then in that eventuality, the petitioner would have immediately i.e. after 09.03.2015 when he allegedly came to know about so called discrepancy in the date in RBA certificate, immediately approached the Tehsildar, Udhampur either the next day or a few days thereafter, but the fact remain that the petitioner approached the Tehsildar, Udhampur approximately one and half month thereafter, the same goes to show beyond an iota of doubt that the benefit of the Full Bench decision cannot be availed of by the petitioner because it is not a case of the petitioner being unable to produce the certificate before the cut-off date in spite of his/ her best efforts. 35. The certificate relied upon by the petitioner along with application form ceased to be valid on 02.03.2015, thereafter a procedure is stipulated under the .Jammu & Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004 and the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005 for seeking renewal of the certificate which amongst other things entails establishment of continued fulfilment of the condition’s stipulated for the issuance of the RBA certificate. Even if, the aspect of the petitioner not having made his best efforts to submit a valid RBA certificate before the cut-off date is ignored, the petitioner would still be not entitled to admission in view of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case titled as Deepika Gupta and Ors. V. Union of India and Ors. Even if, the aspect of the petitioner not having made his best efforts to submit a valid RBA certificate before the cut-off date is ignored, the petitioner would still be not entitled to admission in view of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case titled as Deepika Gupta and Ors. V. Union of India and Ors. As also the decision of the Hon ‘ble Division Bench of this Court in LPAOW No.51/2015 m case titled as J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations and Ors. V. Souia Anand. The petitioner is also not entitled to alternate relief as per the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case titled as Chandigarh Administration and Anr. V. Jasmine Kour and Ors. ( AIR 2015 SC 34 ), in view of the petitioner himself being responsible for the situation in which he finds himself. 36. In the light of the position noted above, the writ petition is devoid of merit and is accordingly dismissed. No order as to costs.